wow

That's exactly my reaction to the number of people against this project. :ohno: I hope they build it. :)

Notice how we can't see the Upper St. or Main St. side of CentrePointe in the released render? This may be part of the answer...

"Around the corner, on Upper Street --- another street that is presently one-way --- one would encounter a complete battery of conditions hostile to urban welfare. For a full 150 feet along the sidewalk there would be nothing but fire stairs, truck loading docks and a kitchen. Above this, the entire 240 foot length of the second and third storeys would be occupied solely by storage, service and mechanical spaces, shoved to the outer perimeter by the crude exigencies of the plan. A more effective set of disincentives to the recovery of a flourishing urban life on an Upper Street restored to two-way traffic can scarcely be imagined." - Anthony Eardley - Former Dean of UK College of Architecture

I can't imagine that McCarthy's and Harvey's will be happy about having loading docks in front of them. That will surely kill off what's left of the nightlife down there.

^^Sorry buddy, but i'm not seeing the city denying this developer to build his highrise where he wants. That's greed for you.

Ian, I don't think that three businesses comprise more than half of the nightlife district, unless you define that district so small as to exclude all the establishments in the rest of downtown. The Dame may be a major player but is hardly the only game in town.


I'm talking about the district in question and Main and Upper over to Vine. The "district" (perhaps i could have used a better word) is made up of The Dame, Buster's, Mia's, McCarthy's and Harvey's.


G-man. Very few people are flat "against high-rises" it's just the way that this one has come about and the compromise that will have to be made. I dont know if it's a compormise against making.

I'm not "against it" per se, I just cant support it 100%. There WILL be some very real benefits from it but there WILL be a very real loss too.

There is no district in question. The area defined is the one city block of a downtown that has many places of entertainment. These three businesses are not the only ones to have customers in the downtown area. You are, in essence, saying that what happens outside of this boundary is of less importance to you. You, the Dame, Seicer and the rest are but a small vocal group that does not represent the whole of downtown.

Cartoman I SAID I SHOULD HAVE USED A BETTER WORD.

The fact IS nowhere else downtown has the energy that this BLOCK has. Losing that energy will lose the appeal that brings a lot of young people downtown. Not just the businesses but the social implications.

Name another spot downtown that consistantly has that kind of energy that draws young people every weekend.

Name another spot that's a bigger for catalyst for nightlife in Lexington.

Cartomanlex, stop being a pompous asshole and let others voice their opinions. It's very unconstructive when you come in and derail other people's opinions by stating ours is not valid because we are not "representative" of the "whole of downtown." Much can be said of those who are supportive of the project -- they are not "representative" of the "whole of downtown" either. There are plenty who are opposed to the project who live at Park Plaza, for instance. The managers and most of the residents here are opposed to the project because of what will occur with Phoenix Park alone; many also do not trust the Webbs for the reasons that I stated earlier.

The fact is, the block containing The Dame, Mia's, Buster's, and formerly the Triple Crown Lounge and Club 141 had vibe and energy that most of downtown Lexington did not. It's not an official district, per se, but as an unofficial term, it's more than adequate.

Eastern State deal could be in peril (http://www.kentucky.com/454/story/356368.html)
By Sarah Vos, Herald-Leader, March 25, 2008

The much-applauded deal to build a new Eastern State Hospital may be in jeopardy, as the version of the budget approved by the Senate on Monday doesn't contain language spelling out the complicated land-swap and funding agreement.

The Senate's budget calls for the secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to solicit a contract from the Bluegrass Regional Mental Health-Mental Retardation Board, which runs the Lexington psychiatric hospital, to build and operate a new facility.

Rep. Jimmie Lee, D-Elizabethtown, who helped broker the earlier deal, said that the language in the Senate's budget was "unacceptable."

"It'll kill it," he predicted, saying the change would greatly jeopardize the chance of the new facility being built.

But others involved in the deal say a compromise can be worked out when House and Senate leaders meet in conference committee to work out their differences.

"We're hopeful that in conference committee the language can get hammered out in a way that benefits everyone," said Jay Blanton, a spokesman for the University of Kentucky. "We know that everyone has the same goal in mind."

Sen. Charlie Borders, R-Grayson, said the wording change does not jeopardize the project and the various commitments made by the city, UK and Bluegrass Community and Technical College. "This in no way interferes with that," Borders said.

Rather, the new wording simply assures that the hospital would continue to operate under strong management, he said.

Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville, said there might have been plans to have an Ohio company known for operating prisons run the hospital. He said Bluegrass is doing a good job.

"It's no time to throw this individual company out," Buford said.

In February, Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear, Lee, and leaders from the UK, BCTC and the city of Lexington announced a plan to build a new Eastern State Hospital that would also give the community college a consolidated campus and open up space on UK's main campus.

Under the plan, the state would lease 28 acres at UK's Coldstream Research Campus for a new Eastern State. The former Eastern State property would become a new home for BCTC, and UK would get most of the classrooms and parking spaces now occupied by BCTC's Cooper Campus. The city of Lexington would bond the $129 million needed to build the hospital, and the state would lease the hospital from the city, paying off the bonds.

At the time of the announcement, officials said that they had not decided who would run the new hospital. Republican leaders were absent from the press conference, and Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, said afterward that he had not been told about the deal.

In the House version of the budget, the land-swap and lease agreements were spelled out: budget language authorized the state to pay Lexington for the bonds, to execute a lease agreement with UK for Coldstream land, to transfer Eastern State property to BCTC and to free up space on UK's campus.

UK officials think that language is needed for the land swap to occur, Blanton said.

Borders said he doesn't think authorizing language for the land transactions is necessary, but that "if it takes language for that to occur, we'll certainly be willing to look at that" in the conference committee.

Joe Toy, president and chief executive officer of the Bluegrass Regional Mental Health-Mental Retardation Board, said Bluegrass cannot pay for the hospital, although it could be the lease-holder in an arrangement similar to the one announced in February. In that scenario, Lexington would still issue the bonds, but Bluegrass would be the debt holder.

But it is unclear whether Lexington would be able to agree to such a scenario.

Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry said Monday that the original proposal was a win for Lexington, higher education and those with mental illness.

"Negotiations over the budget are just beginning," Newberry said. "I think in the long run our legislators will recognize the strength of the House plan."

Cartomanlex,... let others voice their opinions. It's very unconstructive when you come in and derail other people's opinions

I have and still do let you all state and restate your opinions. Your opinion is just as valid as mine, which I will continue to reiterate. I have not "derailed" your opinion, nor anyone else's as far as I can see, because you are on the same track as before. You are constantly bringing up the "facts" as you see them and state your "impressions" which I try to expose as false as I see them. This is called discussion. If anyone gets off of the track that they have been on, it will not be of my doing.

As for those "in favor of the project" not being representative of the whole downtown, do you mean the Council, DDA, the developers of Main at Rose and Nunn Lofts, the developers of the 500's on Main and others? Others who have a greater stake in downtown than Mia's, Busters and the Dame combined? Now who is pompous?

I wonder how that will affect the few thousands (just a guess in number) of students that live on UK's campus who attend BCTC

BCTC students should not live on campus, but live within commuting distance

If in fact all of Upper will be a blank wall and there will only be two entrances to the project I will have to be opposed to it, even though I really like the idea of it. I do not want another blank wall in Lexington. If you are going to build retail it HAS to be street level retail opening onto the sidewalk. It is the only thing that works for one thing but also it kills your street activity if just have blank walls. I want something done on this block and I like the idea of a highrise but I do not want what is described in this article, if it is accurate.

I agree that saying that Mia's, Busters and the Dame comprise half of the downtown entertainment district is way off base and just flat inaccurate. It is half of a half of a block. But within one block of this is Cheapside, Redmons, Rosebuds, Sawyers, the new Irish Bar, Hugos, Belini's and their martini bar, the Thai place is about to reopen & Bang. From everything I have heard Mia's has a plan to relocate a block away. I have no idea about Busters but it would be fairly easy to find them a new spot. The only difficult one is the Dame.

BTW, on a similar but unrelated note, I keep seeing contractor type people going into the buildings next to the Rosebud and I have head they are planning on redoing those buildings with restaurant and/or bar space on the bottom. Not sure if it is true but that would make a nice 'district' if you will with Rosebud, Cheapside, Redmons and Goodfellas. It would also increase the need/desirability of closing down Mill on weekends.

Cartomanlex, stop being a pompous asshole and let others voice their opinions. It's very unconstructive when you come in and derail other people's opinions by stating ours is not valid because we are not "representative" of the "whole of downtown."

:bash: I try to voice my opinion and then you tell everybody to ignore me. Talk about a hypocrite. :ohno:

The local architect has stated on more than one occasion that all the ground floor retail will have separate street frontages and doorways. It looks like they learned a lesson from the Festival Market fiasco.

The local architect has stated on more than one occasion that all the ground floor retail will have separate street frontages and doorways. It looks like they learned a lesson from the Festival Market fiasco.

Why not just tear down the Festival Market building and build the highrise there? Wouldn't that make everybody happy? You save the nightlife and get your highrise. :dunno:

For once, I agree with gman!

BCTC students should not live on campus, but live within commuting distance

Yea but they do, just like regular university students. Not all but some

Why not just tear down the Festival Market building and build the highrise there? Wouldn't that make everybody happy? You save the nightlife and get your highrise. :dunno:

By that reasoning, I could take your car, trade it in on a Cadillac Escalade for me to drive and every one would be happy. I would have my car just the same and have a top of the line SUV to drive around in. Great, lets do it.

Festival Market is not that old, and it is nearly fully stocked with tenants. Office tenants and a handful of eateries, and I think one store. I would like to see greater density on that block, though.

One more long-term project that would be nice, and is something that Cincinnati (and many other cities) is doing, is removing the skywalks. They detract from the streetscape and remove pedestrians from the sidewalks, and are actually pretty damn ugly.

Like the black box that connects the Lexington Center to Victorian Square. It might have matched when the Lexington Center's facade was nothing more than a boxy, blackish structure, but it really doesn't do a damn thing for it today.

I don't mind the skywalks. I live and work downtown and in the winter there are not many people on the sidewalks, skywalk or no skywalk and when the weather turns nice people are everywhere and most people don't both with the skywalks. I don't think removing them would 'enliven' the street much and it is nice to be able to get from the parking deck into Victorian Square, Rupp, etc. with out getting wet when it is raining. They are not the most attractive things but I don't think they are all that ugly either. I think it is a bigger deal in Cinci where there were a ton of them and lots of people use them and never step foot on a downtown sidewalk. I don't think that is the case in Lexington.

I don't mind the skywalks. I live and work downtown and in the winter there are not many people on the sidewalks, skywalk or no skywalk and when the weather turns nice people are everywhere and most people don't both with the skywalks. I don't think removing them would 'enliven' the street much and it is nice to be able to get from the parking deck into Victorian Square, Rupp, etc. with out getting wet when it is raining. They are not the most attractive things but I don't think they are all that ugly either. I think it is a bigger deal in Cinci where there were a ton of them and lots of people use them and never step foot on a downtown sidewalk. I don't think that is the case in Lexington.

nm

Well, here is the glaring example that always sticks out for me. I wish this would be remedied somehow.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj84/cartmanlex/DSCN1128.jpg

The 500's on Main Phase III

The steel is rising on phase III

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj84/cartmanlex/DSCN1211.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj84/cartmanlex/DSCN1205.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj84/cartmanlex/DSCN1207.jpg

If in fact all of Upper will be a blank wall and there will only be two entrances to the project I will have to be opposed to it, even though I really like the idea of it. I do not want another blank wall in Lexington. If you are going to build retail it HAS to be street level retail opening onto the sidewalk. It is the only thing that works for one thing but also it kills your street activity if just have blank walls. I want something done on this block and I like the idea of a highrise but I do not want what is described in this article, if it is accurate.

I agree that saying that Mia's, Busters and the Dame comprise half of the downtown entertainment district is way off base and just flat inaccurate. It is half of a half of a block. But within one block of this is Cheapside, Redmons, Rosebuds, Sawyers, the new Irish Bar, Hugos, Belini's and their martini bar, the Thai place is about to reopen & Bang. From everything I have heard Mia's has a plan to relocate a block away. I have no idea about Busters but it would be fairly easy to find them a new spot. The only difficult one is the Dame.

BTW, on a similar but unrelated note, I keep seeing contractor type people going into the buildings next to the Rosebud and I have head they are planning on redoing those buildings with restaurant and/or bar space on the bottom. Not sure if it is true but that would make a nice 'district' if you will with Rosebud, Cheapside, Redmons and Goodfellas. It would also increase the need/desirability of closing down Mill on weekends.

Yeesh! How many times can i say it? I should have called it a block not a district, the only reason i called it a district is because not everything is on the same "block" becauase McCarty's and Harvey's are on the next block over even though its just accross the Upper. And i wasn't talking about the entiretyof downtown, can we please drop it????

"But within one block of this is Cheapside, Redmons, Rosebuds, Sawyers, the new Irish Bar, Hugos, Belini's and their martini bar, the Thai place is about to reopen & Bang."

This is very true, and i dont mean to take anything away from these establishments but when was the last time you had a tougher time getting through the sidewalk on Mill Street then you did inside the Dame because of the sheer number of people outside and pedestrians moving to and from each of the five places i mentioned?

That is the energy I'm talking about and it doesnt exist consitently anywhere else in town like it does there.

Mill Street does produce some energy that's very true but in comparing the two no one can objectively say they're even close to being on the same level.

With that said I'm not going to talk about my misphrasing anymore because i retracted the comment ten hours ago.

The 500's on Main Phase III

The steel is rising on phase III

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj84/cartmanlex/DSCN1211.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj84/cartmanlex/DSCN1205.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj84/cartmanlex/DSCN1207.jpg

It's good to see steel going up here. I'll have to take a walk by there in the next couple days.

The property Cartoman referred to late last week at Main and Kentucky is on the docket for tomorrow night's Technical Committee meeting.

Next to last plan on the docket.

ftp://ftp.lfucg.com/Planning/Agendas/Agenda_080326.pdf

Double post

Ian, are you going to that? I'll have free time in the evening and will attend.

I dont think so. I work until eleven tomorrow. Take a camera in case there are renderings!

That is a technical meeting in the MORNING not an evening meeting

Oh dammit. Now I can't make it. I'll contact my representative and see what's up.... and see what he thinks about Centrepointe.

The technical committee meeting is for the various divisions and service agencies to have a first glance at the plans and see what the problems might be. The public is not allowed to speak and is, in fact, discouraged to attend. No one but the staff members and representatives of the owner/s will be allowed to speak. Public input will only be allowed at a Public Hearing.

Also techincal meetings are first come first serve starting at 8:30 am. It is, at it says, techinical. It is for the different services to get questions answered so they can properly review the plans that are submited.

Actually I have more trouble getting by on the sidewalk on Mill but that is not really a good judge. The Dame holds way more people. There is a good bit activity on Limestone as well as Mill/Market area. Doesn't mean we need to get ride of the Dame but I do think people are over selling the idea of it being the only available downtown entertainment.

I understand that you have addressed it but you are not the only one to decribe it that way. I have seen way too many people say that we would be lose all of our downtown entertainment and that just isn't true. It is the best music venue but by no means the only downtown entertainment or even a large percentage of it.

The sidewalk on Mill is much narrower. I'm surprised the city allows outdoor seating there, or even like in front of Mia's, given that the sidewalks are too narrow to allow both that and have it ADA compliant.

What about Bellini's-Sunshine Bakery-Taste of Thai sidewalk on Main St? Or from the old Annabell's to a la lucie's on Limestone

Festival Market is not that old, and it is nearly fully stocked with tenants. Office tenants and a handful of eateries, and I think one store. I would like to see greater density on that block, though.

One more long-term project that would be nice, and is something that Cincinnati (and many other cities) is doing, is removing the skywalks. They detract from the streetscape and remove pedestrians from the sidewalks, and are actually pretty damn ugly.

Like the black box that connects the Lexington Center to Victorian Square. It might have matched when the Lexington Center's facade was nothing more than a boxy, blackish structure, but it really doesn't do a damn thing for it today.

Then why did you say it was a failed project if it's not? :dunno: :nuts: You don't want the highrise built where the Dame is and you don't want it built where Festival Market currently is. Do you even want it built at all?

Actually I have more trouble getting by on the sidewalk on Mill but that is not really a good judge. The Dame holds way more people. There is a good bit activity on Limestone as well as Mill/Market area. Doesn't mean we need to get ride of the Dame but I do think people are over selling the idea of it being the only available downtown entertainment.

I understand that you have addressed it but you are not the only one to decribe it that way. I have seen way too many people say that we would be lose all of our downtown entertainment and that just isn't true. It is the best music venue but by no means the only downtown entertainment or even a large percentage of it.

I disagree. It's the sheer number of people out on the streets that creates a sense of excitement and energy. Mill St. simply cant provide that due to it's narrow sidewalks. If you have a harder time getting by it's because 10-20 people are outside on the sidewalk at one particular point.

If you have a hard time in front of The Dame/Buster's it's because there are 50-60 people outside, not counting pedestrians just passing by.

Also, I got to go by Shelbourne and got a peek at the warehouse demo happening. It's encouraging to see that maybe this wont be a demoed and then abandoned lot forever. Even if it's not the orignal design,which was awesome!

I also passed by the 500's and CenterCourt and saw the new activity there. It's good to see these projects springing back to life.

Here's a link to the development plan for one of the Manchester St. properties. To the far right is a rendering which outlines what looks like either or four or five story structure marked as "LEED Registered". It's labelled Phase 2.

http://www.lfucg.com/Planning/Plans/0802/DP2008-30.pdf

What about Bellini's-Sunshine Bakery-Taste of Thai sidewalk on Main St? Or from the old Annabell's to a la lucie's on Limestone

The sidewalk is considerably wider along Main though. We had some difficulties in West Virginia getting outdoor seating for a restaurant because a disability-rights organization began to whimper that the extra wide sidewalk (the size of what are along Main) would be reduced to just the width of one wheelchair. In reality, after the outdoor seating was installed, there was enough room for at least two wheelchairs, if not three.

But as for the seating along Mill, it was pretty bad last year to the point that I had to walk in the street just to pass the chairs and tables -- not to pass people.

Yeah, there's no way those sidewalk patios are up to code. You have to have four feet of clearance between any part of the tables and chairs and the street. That's why we only put out three tables on any given night, even though the city said we have room for seven.

Mark Acre Zoning Change (http://www.lfucg.com/planning/zone_changes/08-03-mar/MAR2008-7.pdf)

On July 27, 2006, the subject property was zoned from R-4 to MU-2 in an effort to accommodate a 54-unit condominium building containing 10,374 SF of support retail space. Over the past two years, there has been an abundance of condominium units that have saturated the downtown market. as a result, to minimize the risk of solely developming a condominium/retail facility, our client desires the option for the individual condominium owners to be allowed to incorporate their specific unit(s) into a rental pool at their discretion. These rental units could be described as a boutique hotel use and because hotels are not allowed in a MU-2 zone, a zone change to B2-A is therefore required.

This facility is proposed to be a five-story building having a below grade parking garage. Because buildings taller than three stories and up to ten stories have to be approved by the Planning commission, we respectfully request approval for the five story building plus the below grade parking garage.

In addition, we are requesting a front yard and setback variance from 10' to 0' for the three sides bounded by S. Broadway, Plunkett Street and Cedar Street. The purpose of the request is to provide a larger interior open space courtyard between the two wings of the building.

BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MEETING, March 28, 2008

903 Manchester Street (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=903+Manchester+Street,+lexington,+ky&sll=38.026828,-84.490955&sspn=0.001481,0.002511&ie=UTF8&ll=38.052505,-84.508628&spn=0.002961,0.005021&t=k&z=18&iwloc=addr) at Google Maps
C-2008-20: DANIEL JOSEPH ELLIS appeals for a conditional use permit to establish an indoor recreational facility (skate park) and alcohol-free nightclub in a Light Industrial (I-1) zone, on property located at 903 Manchester Street (Council District 2).

The Staff Recommended: Approval, for the following reasons:
A. Granting the requested conditional use permit should not adversely affect the subject or surrounding properties. The proposed skate park and nightclub will be integrated into a diverse mix of uses intended for an Industrial Mixed Use Project, and the overall redevelopment will be implemented in accordance with a development plan that has been approved (although not yet certified) by the Planning Commission. Adequate off-street parking will be provided assuming that all of the parking proposed for phase 1 of the redevelopment (138 spaces) is constructed or otherwise made available.

B. All necessary public facilities and services are available and adequate for the proposed uses. This recommendation of approval is made subject to the following conditions:
1. The skate park and nightclub shall be established in accordance with the submitted application and site plan, in a manner consistent with the Final Development Plan for Manchester Development, LLC (DP 2008-30) or subsequent amendments to that plan.
2. Occupancy permits, as well as any permits required for renovations to the building, shall be obtained from the Division of Building Inspection prior to opening the skate park and nightclub.
3. Occupancy permits shall not be issued for either facility until all of the Phase 1 parking (a total of 138 off-street parking spaces) is available for use.
4. The nightclub shall operate on an alcohol-free basis.
5. The nightclub shall be soundproofed to the maximum extent possible using existing technology, with noise or other emissions not creating a nuisance to the surrounding neighborhood.
6. A note regarding action of the Board shall be placed on the Final Development Plan for the subject property.

While we are speaking of sidewalks, I have a pet peeve and that is not the dining al fresco and the like which may tend to block the walkway, but the riding of bicycles in a congested area of the sidewalk. IMO, anyone over the age of 12 should not be riding on the sidewalk in the downtown area, yet I see many college age people, supposedly educated people, riding on the sidewalk. These people have been crying for years for bike lanes and now they have bike lanes, why don't they use them? I guess it could be the parents to blame, you know, the ones who were supposed to teach their youngsters the social responsibility of showing good manners and respect for others.

Not just riding bikes, but parking of the bikes. I believe that the bikes should be oriented parallel with the direction of the street, so as to allow the foot traffic to flow past in an efficient manner.

Corrections to these situations will make Lexington a much more walkable city.

While we are speaking of sidewalks, I have a pet peeve and that is not the dining al fresco and the like which may tend to block the walkway, but the riding of bicycles in a congested area of the sidewalk. IMO, anyone over the age of 12 should not be riding on the sidewalk in the downtown area, yet I see many college age people, supposedly educated people, riding on the sidewalk. These people have been crying for years for bike lanes and now they have bike lanes, why don't they use them? I guess it could be the parents to blame, you know, the ones who were supposed to teach their youngsters the social responsibility of showing good manners and respect for others.

Not just riding bikes, but parking of the bikes. I believe that the bikes should be oriented parallel with the direction of the street, so as to allow the foot traffic to flow past in an efficient manner.

Corrections to these situations will make Lexington a much more walkable city.

I'm a sometime bike rider and I must admit that the only bike lane I ever use is the one on Euclid. Riding in the street is just far too dangerous. If people driving actually paid attention to anything besides what's on their iPod or who is texting them I might feel differently. Hell, even the bike cops rarely use the bike lanes. As long as you keep the speed to a minimum and don't get anywhere near pedestrians, I don't see a problem.

Cartomanlex, do you bike on a daily basis? If so, you would see that there are virtually no bike lanes. Here is the run down in the central city --

1. Euclid Avenue, the first segment being when it was narrowed from four- to two-lanes with a center turn lane from East High to Rose; the second from Rose to Upper when that was reconfigured to remove the parking spaces.
2. East Main Street, which goes west only. There is no eastbound bicycle lane.
3. Richmond Road from near Ashland to New Circle.
4. Leestown Road near New Circle.
5. Newtown Pike briefly had lanes but were removed because they did not meet the minimum standards.
6. One block of Upper, from Euclid to Bolivar.
7. A portion of Rose.

That's not a lot.

I rarely use the bike lanes on East Main. I often come out of Rose and head west along Main towards Park Plaza, but it is not really worth the effort to use the far right bicycle lane when I am traveling only three blocks. I cycle at about 20 to 25 MPH easy, and I keep up with the flow of traffic and often pass them when it is congested enough. I pull onto the sidewalk at the pull-in for the Library parking structure and head towards the front entrance.

My morning commute today was along Rose towards Washington. Most of my route was not with a bike lane. From Vine to Euclid, I used 1/3 of the lane to bike, keeping an average of 15 MPH and speeding up to 25 MPH as I neared Euclid. Cars passed approperiately and everything was fine -- and I passed three cyclists on the sidewalk. The portion from near-Euclid to Washington has a bike lane, but between having people walking out in front of cars without looking (I've seen many near misses and even one hit because of this, but it's better for a separate thread), and one opened their car door INTO my bike lane without looking.

My evening commute was along Limestone, where I used 1/3 of the right lane until it became two lanes at Maxwell. From there on, it was bumper-to-bumper as usual, and there was not enough space to squeeze through in the right lane, so I rode in the center until I could find room to merge back into the right lane.

--

I'm an advocate of cycling, for recreation and for commuting. I do it daily. Many are not nearly as experienced as I am in cycling, and trust me -- the first time I rode in traffic, I was scared to death. Cars generally disregard cyclists as obstructions in the road, even when we are biking in the appropriate lane. I've been hit by 3 mirrors, run off the road once, and had a handful of obscenities yelled at me. But you get used to it and laugh it off -- they are the ones who are idling in traffic as I blaze down Limestone, paying $3.25 for gasoline while the bitch and complain about congestion, gasoline prices, and everything else.

You should come out to a Critical Mass or to the next Alleycat Race (April 1 8 PM). I'm sure there would be many others who will be willing to give you other viewpoints from the cyclist -- it's not all as bad as you make it out to be. The issue with the parking of bikes is not our fault -- the racks in many areas (especially in the center) are oriented not parallel with the sidewalk, but perpendicular. Sometimes, there are not enough racks available and we must be forced to hook it up onto street signs.

I do agree that some improvements need to be made. Educate more about riding in the road with traffic and save the sidewalks for pedestrians. Lexington's Bike Summit last year was a great start. Turning our streets into two-way thoroughfares and slowing traffic using traffic calming devices would be even better, since it's not feasible to install bike lanes on many interior streets.

And I'll agree with TheDame. Bike cops RARELY use the bike lanes. I had a nice discussion with them about it a few weeks ago, and they said that because there was a lack of bike lanes, that it wasn't really worth trying to bike on the freeway known as Vine (a cyclist's nightmare) to go east, when it would be safer to bike on the sidewalk along Main. It's not a huge issue, as long as cyclists remain respectful to the pedestrian.

Dame, you have just the attitude that I think that we should guard against.

If you can be allowed to do it, then I should be allowed to do it, but differently. If they see you doing something, then they can do something else, only not as carefully. You keep your speed to a minimum but thats no fun, my minimum is just as safe although its twice as fast. And staying away from pedestrians is hard, they keep getting in the way, going just where I want to go.

If bicycles can go the wrong way on a one way street, then cars should also, if bicycles can run a red light, then cars should also. I think you can see where this would lead.

You are comparing apples to oranges. Do you bike on a daily basis? Or enough to see where we are coming from? Try riding on Euclid after a heavy rain storm -- avoiding the massive potholes and all the resulting debris is impossible, so using a sidewalk is all but necessary. Or when you want to go east in downtown, and Vine Street is nothing more than a freeway with no bike lanes.

I guess we should move the bike racks to the asphalt. Bikes aren't allowed on sidewalks... (yeah right) :nuts:

--

Sec. 18-155. Riding on sidewalks.
(a) No person shall ride a bicycle upon a sidewalk within the business district, except for members of the division of police and the sheriff's office. The business district shall be from the corner of Jefferson and West Vine Street east along; West Vine Street to Ransom Street, north along Ransom to East Main Street, then west on East Main Street to DeWeese Street, then north on DeWeese Street to East Short Street, then west on East Short Street to Walnut Street, then north on Walnut Street to Barr Street, then west on Barr Street and Church Street to North Broadway, then south on North Broadway to West Short Street, then west on West Short Street to Spring Street, then south on Spring Street to West Main Street, then west on West Main Street to Jefferson Street.
(b) The director, division of traffic engineering is authorized to erect signs on any sidewalk or roadway prohibiting the riding of bicycles thereon by any person, when in his opinion the riding of bicycles would constitute a danger either to the riders or to pedestrians. When such signs are in place only members of the division of police or the sheriff's office can disregard the same.
(c) Whenever any person is riding a bicycle upon a sidewalk, such person shall yield right-of-way to any pedestrian and shall give audible signal before overtaking and passing such pedestrian.
(d) Members of the division of police and the sheriff's office are authorized to ride bicycles, horses and Segways on any sidewalk or roadway including those within the business district.
(Ord. No. 4753, § 1, 10-3-63; Ord. No. 95-73, § 1, 4-12-73; Ord. No. 71-2005, § 1, 3-24-05)

--

So why are the cops given special treatment and not regular cyclists?

http://www.lexrides.com <- Ask your question there cartomanlex.

Cartomanlex, do you bike on a daily basis? If so, you would see that there are virtually no bike lanes.

While I don't cycle on a daily basis these days, I have done my share. I got my drivers license at the age of 42, when I got married. Up until then I cycled everyday to work, sometimes 3 1/2 to 4 miles each way and in all weather except ice. During my lunch periods I would go out for a six or so mile ramble occasionally. I rode home after a New Year's party one year in -9 temperature, along Tates Creek Rd(without streetlights) dodging drunks all the way. I could tell you some scary stories.

I've probably ridden as a commuter longer than you've been living.

So why are the cops given special treatment and not regular cyclists?

And I thought g-man asked inane questions.

And I thought g-man asked inane questions.

:hug: :D What did I miss?

Lol once again g-man comes in with perfect timing

Exactly how am i supposed to get from say Triangle Park backt to my apartment at 4th and MLK without using sidewalks. Main's sidewalks are often crowded so i usually take Vine where the sidewalks are much wider. Then at Limestone there's no bike lane and the road, like Vine, is far too dangerous iwth the veer in the lanes mid-intersection. from there I ride through the Courthouse Plaza to Barr, to MLK where I feel much safer riding in the road.

Any suggested alternatives?

I'm a sometime bike rider and I must admit that the only bike lane I ever use is the one on Euclid. Riding in the street is just far too dangerous. If people driving actually paid attention to anything besides what's on their iPod or who is texting them I might feel differently. Hell, even the bike cops rarely use the bike lanes. As long as you keep the speed to a minimum and don't get anywhere near pedestrians, I don't see a problem.

There are plenty of measures the city can take in making the people downtown subconsciously drive slower. Adding elements like paving bands across lanes, removing curbs (maybe not the best idea), adding crosswalks in areas not just at intersectoins, to name a few

Exactly how am i supposed to get from say Triangle Park backt to my apartment at 4th and MLK without using sidewalks. Main's sidewalks are often crowded so i usually take Vine where the sidewalks are much wider. Then at Limestone there's no bike lane and the road, like Vine, is far too dangerous iwth the veer in the lanes mid-intersection. from there I ride through the Courthouse Plaza to Barr, to MLK where I feel much safer riding in the road.

Any suggested alternatives?

First off, I would take the leftmost lane of Vine St to Mill St, thence along Mill to Second St, thence Second St to Market St to Third St to MLK and up to Fourth. All narrow streets so as to calm the traffic and fairly lightly traveled. Second St sidewalk is allowed because it is outside of the designated prohibited area.

Lol once again g-man comes in with perfect timing

:D You remind me of the hippo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkC8HowDvys&feature=related Either that or Alvin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTYx6Z9Pj8I

Cartomanlex, do you bike on a daily basis? If so, you would see that there are virtually no bike lanes. Here is the run down in the central city --

1. Euclid Avenue, the first segment being when it was narrowed from four- to two-lanes with a center turn lane from East High to Rose; the second from Rose to Upper when that was reconfigured to remove the parking spaces.
2. East Main Street, which goes west only. There is no eastbound bicycle lane.
3. Richmond Road from near Ashland to New Circle.
4. Leestown Road near New Circle.
5. Newtown Pike briefly had lanes but were removed because they did not meet the minimum standards.
6. One block of Upper, from Euclid to Bolivar.
7. A portion of Rose.

That's not a lot.

I rarely use the bike lanes on East Main. I often come out of Rose and head west along Main towards Park Plaza, but it is not really worth the effort to use the far right bicycle lane when I am traveling only three blocks. I cycle at about 20 to 25 MPH easy, and I keep up with the flow of traffic and often pass them when it is congested enough. I pull onto the sidewalk at the pull-in for the Library parking structure and head towards the front entrance.

Once again, you miss the area of discussion. The downtown area, where riding on the sidewalk is prohibited, is defined in the ordinances and only one of the bike lanes that you listed is in that area. You did leave out the lanes on Elm Tree Lane.

As for the lanes on Main St, why would need a westbound bike lane? You are supposed to go with the flow. As long as you are entering the Library driveway, why don't you proceed through the garage to Water St. and enter in the back door of the Park Plaza, rather than trying to avoid both front door areas of the Library and the front door of Park Plaza and their pedestrian movements?

I believe that cycling in the downtown area can be accomplished with out riding on the sidewalk.

The thing is, even the cops that I talked to said that they do not enforce the ordinance on sidewalk riding. It was "ridiculous" to have them memorize the boundaries, and even more so to chase innocent cyclists when there more important matters needed to be handled.

As for traffic calming, when the city reconstructed the sidewalks along Limestone in the vicinity of the courthouse, they added curb bulbs at the corners of streets, which have an effect of traffic calming. Too bad that between Main and Short, there is a continuous right turn lane that is underutilized and could have been used as a bike lane (and continued northward).

Some of the side streets outside of downtown contain much bigger curb bulbs that narrow the width considerably more, along with speed humps and roundabouts.

As for the lanes on Main Street...

the single bike lane only goes _west_ from Midland to Broadway. I am talking about going _east_, which is impossible along Vine unless you wish to dodge 35-50 MPH traffic that is channelized as if it was a freeway. Short is another alternative, but it's two blocks north.

Short St. is two blocks north of Vine, but only one from Main St.

Duh.

Lexington's Growth (http://www.bizlex.com/Articles-c-2008-03-19-74970.113117_Lexingtons_Growth.html)
Beyond the Great Divide
By David Mohney, Business Lexington, March 22, 2008

Take Mayor Jim Newberry at his word: Lexington is going to grow, and we better plan for it. So now what?

The mayor’s forthright answer — and it’s a good one — is the establishment of a public planning process: Destination 2040. It’s an effort to conceptualize what this community will look like two generations from now, and start a discussion about how best to achieve that vision.

That’s all well and good so far, but there are a couple of questions I’d like to drill down into right now, at the starting point of Destination 2040. First, when we acknowledge that Lexington is going to grow, exactly what does that mean? Second, are there precedents for addressing this growth, either in our own history or in other places, that we can emulate? This column will tackle the first question, and I’ll do my best on the second one in a future essay.

First, let’s look at population growth. Even though we usually don’t like to admit it, Lexington has grown, is growing and will continue to grow. As the mayor pointed out in his State of the Merged Government address, the paradox is that our agrarian traditions and the small-town values associated with rural culture project qualities of timeless permanence, but those traditions and values are attractive to people, so they move here. We’re growing because this continues to be an attractive place to live.

I think there is no better way to anticipate future growth than by looking back at the recent past. So how much have we grown? According to census records, from 1980 to 2006 the population grew from 204,000 to 276,000. That’s a 35 percent increase in 26 years (at an annual rate of about 1.2 percent, if my math is right). That means that by 2040, if we assume the same growth rate, Lexington’s population will be in excess of 400,000.

That means about 130,000 more people living in Fayette County than are living here right now. Some might quarrel with my assumption of projecting a constant growth rate out over the next 32 years. To them I say, suppose I’m wrong twice over? That still means that 65,000 new residents will need places to live within the next two generations.

And it sharpens the key question: whether it’s 65,000 or 130,000, where are we going to put these new arrivals? And what if the population increases even more than that? In fact, I won’t be surprised if we see that growth rate increasing in the years ahead for a variety of reasons. With the attention Lexington will receive from the World Equestrian Games to the deteriorating quality-of-life issues emerging on both coasts (from traffic congestion to housing costs to infrastructure shortcomings — think water access in the West), I believe the potential exists for Central Kentucky to see a significant bump up in its population growth. If I’m wrong, perhaps we add 100,000 by 2040; if I’m right, we could see 150,000 new residents during that time. And I ask again: where are we going to put them?

Over the past two generations, for the most part we’ve built at the edge of the city, taking agricultural lands and converting them to urban occupancy. The urban service boundary has grown to accommodate this growth; it’s now 30 percent of the county’s land area. It’s time to ask ourselves if we want to continue that model or not. In next week’s column, I’ll present several alternative strategies for development that should be discussed for Lexington’s future expansion. The goal is not to re-draw sharp lines between the pro-growth and anti-growth forces, but to see if we can reach a level of consensus that serves both sides. In the context of planning for 2040, there is time for this discussion now, and I fully expect that we might just surprise ourselves about what’s possible. At least it’s worth the conversation.

I should be pointed out that David Mohney is also a former Dean of the University of Kentucky School of Architecture, who followed, in stark contrast to, Anthony Eardley.

It appears that they have a different view of the situation and it's solutions.

And what we so seek every month... UPDATES!

The Lofts at 991 (http://www.lfucg.com/planning/Plans/0803/DP2008-50.pdf): Sorry, at first I thought this was to be something exciting.

Bennett/Vaughan Residential Development (http://www.lfucg.com/planning/Plans/0803/ZDP2008-59.pdf) at E. Main and Kentucky. Judging by the compact nature of the building, with each section featuring 12 underground parking spaces and 3 exterior guest parking spaces, along with a central 5-story building, this will not take out the historical properties?

^ 9,300 sq. gross floor area per floor, with 5 residential floors and one for parking.

The residential project at Kentucky and Main will remove the brown building in this photo(the one behind the tree). Also the building with the brown roof at the left edge of photo.
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj84/cartmanlex/DSCN1164.jpg

Cartoman, I'm sorry but Vine is too dangerous without a bike lane. Until they add one you'll see me on the sidewalk.

I guess, having learned to ride a bike a 8, covering most of Fayette County at 16, commuted to work for better than 28 years, and survived Route 6 through Cape Cod on several occasions(with a backpack and trailer), I don't find many streets too dangerous to ride.

I'm soooo impressed, but not everyone is going to feel comfortable biking on Vine. It took me a while to get the nerve to bike on city streets that had some form of fast-flowing traffic, and it was a totally different experience after taking it out in the rural parts of the county (much easier than say, taking it out in eastern Kentucky!). That's why we need more Bike Summits, more training programs, and a greater mass of cyclists out there -- on the sidewalks or streets. Having a bigger presence is always nice. And a transportation cabinet that will accept 10 ft. lanes as being acceptable -- do we really need 12 ft. lanes on Vine?

Narrower streets do lead to slower traffic speeds (as well as two-way streets). And by narrowing it down, we could have implemented the bike lanes -- which was originally in the paving plans.

I'm still wondering why the lanes on Winchester were never fully striped. The general traffic lanes are 12' and the center turn lane is 13' (usually they are 12' or 10'-11'). Space was reserved for a bicycle lane, even where there is parallel parking, but it was never fully completed. And the paving plan called for a lane and a 11' center turn lane! Much like Tates Creek Road from Alumni to New Circle -- the paving plan called for two 11' lanes and a bicycle lane, but this was only partially completed -- it ends near the churches at Mt. Tabor.

Good for you.

And what we so seek every month... UPDATES!

The Lofts at 991 (http://www.lfucg.com/planning/Plans/0803/DP2008-50.pdf): Sorry, at first I thought this was to be something exciting.

Bennett/Vaughan Residential Development (http://www.lfucg.com/planning/Plans/0803/ZDP2008-59.pdf) at E. Main and Kentucky. Judging by the compact nature of the building, with each section featuring 12 underground parking spaces and 3 exterior guest parking spaces, along with a central 5-story building, this will not take out the historical properties?

^ 9,300 sq. gross floor area per floor, with 5 residential floors and one for parking.

if you compare the location of existing trees, it will take out the 1st house but leave the 2nd

I found this website that had information about Shelbourne Plaza
http://www.buckingham-co.com/development/currentProjects.php

Not sure if this means anything, but hopefully it's more evidence that this is finally happening.

Location: Lexington, Kentucky

Project: Shelbourne Plaza is a mixed-use development located on 4.71 acres in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, within a quarter-mile of the campus of the University of Kentucky. When complete, Shelbourne Plaza will include three buildings containing 291 residential units over 89,000 square feet of street-level retail and restaurants. Structured parking will be provided in a two-level underground garage of approximately 700 spaces. Outdoor seating, a plaza, and additional surface parking will be provided at grade.

It appears to be 5 stories, but it sounds pretty damn big still

Also found this with a little different info

http://www.cmtaegrs.com/projects/housing/shelbourne.htm

"Since this project is focused on students all rooms include basic cable, high speed internet access and are prewired for several optional services. A communication room is located on each floor to facilitate cable administration, maintenance, and future changes. All residential spaces incorporate a centralized access control system, full digital video surveillance with motion recording, and an apartment intercom / door release system."

This is just exactly what we need for the enhancement of the downtown, a place for the "young professional" and new families.

I am for this being built since they have demolished everything already, but if this is student focused...that is not how it was presented originally, if I recall correctly. I hope it would still be appealing for young professionals and people with small families. I don't think it needs to be a dorm type facility...

Something should be and will be built there. What we should all remember is, that the same "behind the scenes" planning and "backroom deals" that led to Centerpointe are behind this and other projects. I can be for this project and against that project, but the deals are the same. Someone buys someone else out and they have to move. Promises are inferred and claimed to not be followed. Changes are made in mid-stream and the end result is not the same as the first proposal. We have all seen it and we all say that we don't like the position in which we find ourselves. Everything changes the face and character of Lexington forever, even the benign neglect of allowing buildings decay like Lexington Mall.

Even if it is student oriented and I am not fond of it, I can't wait for it to be started.

I'd like to see the plan scrapped and start over from scratch but i know that isnt realistic. Anything is better than construction fencing and a torn to shreds lot on one of the biggest thoroughfares in the city.

If you had your 'druthers, what would you like to see there? hypothetically speaking.

It's the intersection of two major roadways and ready for development, what would do?

Two major highways? Shelbourne?

Theatrical Enterprise (http://www.bizlex.com/Articles-c-2008-03-19-74968.113117_Theatrical_Enterprise.html)
Natasha's Cafe owners use creative passion in mix-use venue
By Christine Huskisson, Business Lexington, March 22, 2008

What does dark comedy have to do with one of the brightest spots in our downtown cityscape? Well, you could say, metaphorically speaking, that it relates to the challenges faced by Gene and Natasha Williams when they set their sites on becoming a Lexington landmark.

In 2001, this optimistic husband and wife team relocated “that Russian place on Southland Drive” to downtown near the corner of Esplanade and Main Street. Their dream: to become a very cool place to go.

Little did they know that they would spend the next seven years wrestling with what Gene calls, “two monolithic obstacles of doing business downtown: a huge, negative brand (paid for by parking tickets) and absolutely no centralized marketing campaign by the city or other downtown authority.”

The Williamses realized quickly that they had immersed themselves in what could have been the darkest comedy of all: failure for their family-owned business of ten years.

Now, owning and operating three separate business entities and turning away droves at the door of Natasha’s Cafe, these entrepreneurs credit three things: a business strategy that is more of a balancing act, the attention gained by blatant contradiction, and the power of the creative mind that enables us to laugh in the face of fear.

The couple admits that they went into business, many years ago, clouded by idealism. They had no business plan. In turn after turn, they adopted a unique business philosophy that is experimental and theatrical.

“Experimental by necessity — since we are not a franchise, we needed to continually try out new systems, ways of doing business, test assumptions and incorporate fresh ideas,” stated Gene Williams.

From his wife’s point of view, their method of operation has always been theatrical, which really means changeable, flexible and expressive in all things from the design of the space to their management styles.

A retail contradiction

How difficult is it to be successful in retail in these days of the Internet? Well, it could be real difficult if your catch-phrase is “buy less of everything.”

According to Gene Williams, their retail philosophy is somewhat contradictory. “We would like to see our lives as more than linear journeys through a consumer landscape of collecting stuff — stuff we can’t take to the grave,” he said. Ironically, the notion has caught on as being so cool that sales via their online mail order company continue to climb.

Gene Williams’ retail experience began as a buyer for John Peterman, climbed to the heights of selling to Bloomingdales and closing on over 100,000 in sales, which earned him the unique title as “the first importer of the Russian hats.” In 1995, he began publishing a catalogue/magazine called Catazine and moved the mail order company to the Web in 1999.

After all these years, he has come to realize that retail is really a place where a community can look into a mirror and see itself. “To see at a glance the scope of its values, the level of its skills, the heights of its aesthetics and the depth of its greed, there is no better place to learn than from a sales counter. ... And if after fifteen years of it you can still love your fellow humans, you are ready to join the world of theatre.”

For that, he and Natasha turned to the kitchen.

A branding strategy based on the creative mind

Through the years, Natasha’s Cafe had nurtured not only an extraordinary new American cuisine, but also an abundance of local talent, including artistic minds of all types. “Cooks, poets, choppers, musicians, managers, greeters, eaters, actors, servers, and seaters” had married into something primal and energizing, something that Natasha Williams refers to as the intrinsic theatricality of life.

After the pair pondered why anyone would leave something so inspiring behind the swinging door to the kitchen, a unique marketing strategy was born: a branding strategy really, based in theater.

On April 30, 2003, the staff staged Kissing Christine, a play by John Patrick Shanley, that featured Joe Gatton, Anitra Brumagen and Kim Dixon. This powerful, one-act play revealed how just one kiss could transform a chance encounter into a fateful affair. The evening’s entertainment, which included dinner, was a huge success.

Motivated by the notion that culture happens around food, The Balagula Theatre Company became a separate 501c3, with Natasha Williams serving as the managing director and Ryan Case as the artistic director. The company considers itself an actor’s theater, seeing its mission as nurturing local talent, allocating its every resource to this purpose, and challenging not only the actors, but the audience as well — and their April performance of Pillowman will be no different.

Christine Kuhn, a local artist who has been invited to paint her personal and professional response to the script, sees Natasha's vision as one of the highest caliber. And, if you were given the opportunity to meet Natasha Williams, you would know that her ambitions will not be satisfied with the light fare of a simple kiss and dinner.

“She has built Balagula Theatre so that she can produce plays of substance, plays which address real issues of our times and of human existence,” Kuhn said.

For Kuhn, two key questions posed by Pillowman are: “How is violence and abuse perpetuated through generations and how can it be stopped?” and “What is the role of art in this cessation and in healing?”

According to Natasha, Pillowman is a complex dream sequence that will be performed by four actors: Ryan Case, Pete Sears, David Richmond and Joseph Gatton. “The cast and crew are not only skilled, but also intelligent, highly educated, limitlessly creative, and willing and able to create collectively, a rare ability in the ego-driven world of performing arts,” Natasha Williams said.

Pillowman is a dark comedy, and the creators of this particular performance have learned not only to laugh in the face of fear, but also to rise above it. And what they want to know now is, can we?

Seeking partnership for the retail store

As the Williamses continue to focus more attention on Balagula Theatre, they are considering possible partnerships to handle their boutique line, which carries primarily women’s clothes and accessories, jewelry and gift items.

With the right help, they would like to see the boutique expanded to include a gallery presentation of jewelry, accessories, artwork and cards, and possibly moved to a more visible location closer to Main Street, which would also free up an additional 1,800 square feet of space in their current facility to add seats to their restaurant. Expanding their venue seating capacity would also open up the possibility of hosting more well-known performers, bands and theater productions, Gene Williams said.

Two major highways? Shelbourne?

Yes, two major roadways, Bolivar as it continues over to Newtown Pike and S Broadway. Both will be at least four lane with a center turning lane. Thats two in my book. Or do they not teach math in Boyd Co.

Yes, two major roadways, Bolivar as it continues over to Newtown Pike and S Broadway. Both will be at least four lane with a center turning lane. Thats two in my book. Or do they not teach math in Boyd Co.

ouch, haha

If you had your 'druthers, what would you like to see there? hypothetically speaking.

It's the intersection of two major roadways and ready for development, what would do?

Street level retail with residential units above 4+ floors that has zero setback from the sidewalk. Preferably a grocery. Transit incorporated, which i believe is still a part of the plan correct me if i'm wrong.

At least twenty percent of the units would be affordable housing, owner occupied.

An enclosed parking structure similar to CenterCourt, and a green roof with public access. Sort of like an elevated park.

But that's just me dreaming and doesn't reflect any realistic financing etc.

I was down by the College of Pharmacy site early and saw steel rising on the site. The building looks like it'll be taking shape soon!

If i can borrow my roommates camera i'm going to go out and get some photos of a few projects tomorrow.

Wish me luck.

At the current time, Bolivar is classified as a collector, not a major arterial. In the future, Newtown Pike _will_ extend from West Main to Bolivar and to S. Limestone, but the highway has been delayed for over 30 years and it is not likely that it will be developed for another five to ten (this coming from KYTC's D10). If Shelbourne was developed as-is on-time, it would be finished several years _prior_ to Newtown Pike.

And I see cartomanlex couldn't help but throw in another ad-homiem attack in there. Gee, at least you can get my hometown right (which is not Boyd County).

http://media.kentucky.com/smedia/2008/03/27/23/920-0328a12RiteAid.standalone.prod_affiliate.79.jpg

When I was in college, we studied this street corner and how we could improve on it's uglyness.

I think it's funny that someone from the H-L took this photo (a very recent photo) in black and white to try and make it all historical looking. Needless to say, I wont miss this eyesore.

Although, all the plans are under the name of Newtown Pike Extension, the name assigned to the roadway to be built is Bolivar St. The address of the lower level retail(in the certified development plan) is in the 200's range. This is fact, official and certified. Newtown Pike starts at W. Main St. and extends north toward the Scott Co. line, thence on to Newtown(a small community). It will be just like the Rose St Extension plans, where the new road took the name of the lesser end, Elm Tree Lane.

And, cut with the attitude.

Cut out the Hollier Than Thou attitude. I've worked here for 30 years so I know more than any other poster; some posters just troll; I've biked all over the states and know more about biking than others; I support The Dame yet rail against everything it stands for; TheDame is not popular in comparison to a Jazz/Big-Band festival (which you still have yet to cite); my web-site relies too heavily on a crap-newspaper called the H-L....

You remind me of a poster at a newsgroup I frequent. He frequently posts comments regarding his disdain for the state government, the West Virginia Turnpike, WVDOH, politicians, and so on. But he never cites anything he posts. He finds newspapers to be the "work of the devil," never to be trusted. He relies instead on wisdom, personal insight and his own personal commentary -- and rails against anything that is not conservative. For instance, if you bring up a Financial Sheet stating that the West Virginia Turnpike barely makes ends-meet (due to a stagnant toll rate that hasn't been raised since the mid-1980s), and four news articles that support this from an investigation that was launched into the Turnpike's finances, he'll refute this with ad-homiem attacks and personal comments that he states is nothing short of the truth.

So you say that the Jazz/Big-Band festival draws far more people (and I surmise culture) into Lexington. I refuted this with my own personal experiences at the festival. Can you provide any citation to the point that the festival draws more influence and people than The Dame? I'm sure that The Dame can provide numbers for their weekend shows; can you?

"I've worked here for 30 years so I know more than any other poster;"

I, like you and the Dame, have information that is not commonly available and my 35 years gives me a bit more historical insight than reading old H-L articles or old files.

"some posters just troll"

Some lurk and some troll. g-man is a troll and even you will agree he can be annoying

"I've biked all over the states and know more about biking than others"

Its not that I know more about it, but that I have been there. I worked on the first bikeway plans for Lexington with Pam Miller, before she was on the Council.

"I support The Dame yet rail against everything it stands for"

The Dame is only the latest of the popular youth oriented music clubs that i have supported, but how have I railed against what I stands for? Is its primary purpose to single handedly orchestrate the downtown music scene in Lexington? Or to spearhead the preservation of old buildings which it doesn't own? The Dame(as envisioned by its investors) I believe, stood for a decent place to showcase live music in Lexington, and provide the investors with a decent ROI.

"The Dame is not popular in comparison to a Jazz/Big-Band festival "

The weekly Tuesday night Big Band and Jazz show can outdraw some Dame performances (and because of timing would overlap and compliment the Dame). One could go to both venues on the same night, there is nothing wrong with that.

And your web-site has a lot, A LOT of good information. If I can help you make it better I will try to do so. Just because I don't agree with everything you say does not mean I reject all that you say.

Then cut with the attitude and be more civil in your replies. I'm not the only poster to note this. Likewise, I'll stop railing against every post of yours that is wholly supportive of Centrepointe and redirect my comments towards the building/company in general. I've stated in a PM that what's happened in the past happened in the past, but if you want to drag it out in the mud by stating that my "misrepresentations" was the result of going to school in eastern Kentucky, then that can only be construed as a personal insult or an ad-homiem attack.

Pharmacy school at UK rises to No. 5 (http://www.kentucky.com/211/story/359383.html)
Magazine rates top graduate programs
By Art Jester, Herald-Leader, March 28, 2008

The University of Kentucky's pharmacy school moved up to No. 5 in U.S. News and World Report's new rankings of the nation's graduate schools and programs, released Friday.

Historically, the UK pharmacy school has been the university's highest-ranked program. Although it once reached No. 3, the program had dropped to No. 8 in the last ranking, done in 2005, presumably because of overcrowding.

The General Assembly gave UK $120 million to build a new 250,000-square-foot pharmacy building, which will provide three times the current space. Construction began in 2007. The building is scheduled to open in 2010.

With the new building, UK Provost Kumble Subbaswamy said, UK pharmacy "will continue to be the crown jewel" in UK's efforts to become a Top 20 public research university.

The UK College of Pharmacy has 497 students. It will enroll 132 new students in the fall.

The University of California-San Francisco was No. 1 in pharmacy, followed by the universities of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Minnesota and Texas-Austin. Tied with UK at No. 5 were Ohio State University and the universities of Michigan-Ann Arbor and Washington.

In other rankings for UK programs, clinical psychology tied for No. 33; and nursing tied for No. 26.

The Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing, in Hyden, maintained its national renown by tying for No. 47. The University of Louisville tied for No. 54 in nursing.

Some of the nation's top-ranked graduate schools and programs in the survey were: business, Harvard and Stanford universities, tie; education, Stanford; engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The rankings will appear in the March 31 issue of U.S. News and World Report, which will go on sale Monday. They were the result of voting by the nation's deans and top academic administrators.

Once again, the KY Kernel does a better job than the Herald-Leader on our story. FULL DISCLOSURE - I AM NICK SPROUSE

DAME MUST VACATE WITHIN 90 DAYS

The Dame, a popular downtown bar and music venue, must be vacated within 90 days to make way for the proposed 40-story hotel development, CentrePoint.

Lexington businessman Joe Rosenberg, who owns The Dame and many other buildings on the block where the hotel is planned, enacted a buyout clause in the business's lease, said Dame general manager Nick Sprouse in an e-mail. The Dame does not "have any choice in this situation," he said.

"I'd still like to see a compromise reached between The Webb Companies (which are heading the development) and those that would like to see the current establishments remain where they are," Sprouse said in the e-mail.

Sprouse added that The Dame would remain open as long as possible and will look for a new location if it is impossible to remain where it is.

Demolition of three other buildings on the Rosenberg Block - located between the corners of West Main and South Upper streets and West Vine and South Limestone streets - have been put on hold for 30 days. After that, some buildings may be destroyed before developers can prove they have the money to redesign Lexington's skyline.

Rosenberg applied for demolition permits for buildings on the block along South Limestone Street Monday.

On Wednesday, the Division of Historic Preservation put a 30-day hold on the demolition permits to determine if any buildings have historical significance.

If the permits are issued after the 30-day hold, the demolition can begin after 24 hours and must be completed within 30 days, said Dewey Crowe, director of the Division of Building Inspection.

The Urban County Council and the Tax-Increment Financing Commission will have to approve the financing before construction of the development can begin, said Dudley Webb, a developer in the project, in a March 5 Kernel story.

Sprouse said he hopes the demolition will not begin until developers prove that they have the financing to complete the project.

The requested permits do not affect The Dame, which is located on West Main Street.

Councilwoman Linda Gorton, who was supportive of CentrePoint when the plans were announced March 4, said she thinks the demolition is beginning too quickly. She would prefer demolition to begin only after developers prove they have enough money to complete the project, she said.

She is also worried about Lexington's cultural center on that block, which besides The Dame is also home to bars Mia's and Buster's.

"Another of my concerns is that we are able to maintain the entertainment venues which people currently enjoy," she said.

Gorton plans to attend Preserve Lexington's "Wake Up Lexington: An Event to Save Our Block" opposing the development and discussing alternative approaches.

The event will feature speakers discussing the historic, architectural and cultural importance of the block, a video documentary with residents' memories of the block as well as a discussion on alternatives to the proposed development. The event will be held tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. at the Kentucky Theater.

A public meeting will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. to review the demolition permit application and construction preparations for the development. The meeting will be held in the Council Chamber on the 2nd floor of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Center located at 200 E. Main St.

I'm hearing that the public input meeting for the TIF will be held at 3 p.m. on April 1st in the Phoenix Building. Does anyone know more about this?

edit.

I thought this was a nice letter. Someone that doesn't even live in Lexington is taking the time to write the mayor....


Dear Mayor Newberry,

It has recently been brought to my attention that construction of a luxury hotel is being contemplated for the block of downtown Lexington that includes The Dame, among other things. I don’t currently have the good fortune to be living in your fair city, but I visit regularly and fervently hope to be able to relocate to that area when the time comes and so I feel compelled to add my voice to those who feel this is unfortunate.

One of the many things that attract me to Lexington is in fact The Dame and I always check to see who’s going to be there before I head that way. I think it would be extremely sad to see such an interesting and diverse musical venue fall prey to yet another development intended primarily for people with money, or for the corporations. I understand that The Dame isn’t squeaky clean like a Disney family cruise and that most of the people who patronize it aren’t particularly important, or wealthy, or influential, or even close to the typical families that most merchants seem to prefer as customers these days, but people who don’t fit the mold need places to go too. There are already plenty of movie theaters and family restaurants, but there’s only one Dame.

I also understand that a luxury hotel is likely to generate considerably more tax revenue than the businesses currently on that block, but not everything should be about money, even in city government. If Lexington really needs another fancy downtown hotel, surely there’s a parking lot somewhere that could be used instead. More than any place I’ve ever been in my life, Lexington has a vibrant, amazing soul with a powerful presence that you can almost feel as you walk down the street. Part of this soul is the diversity of it all, which needs and deserves to be protected.

Just the variety of music at The Dame is worth the price of admission. As it is, there just aren’t that many places in Lexington where local or regional acts, and sometimes even up and coming national acts, can perform and it seems unnecessary to subject this one, with all of it’s unique character, to the wrecking ball. Please don’t do this to your beautiful city and to one of the quirkiest and most interesting places in it. What’s next – The Kentucky Theater ?

Thank you for your time.

Yours truly,

David Stahlke

After looking at aerials of the downtown area, I wish they would of just put the highrise where that parking lot is between the historic buildings. That would of been best in IMO. You save the establishments and get rid of a parking lot.

'If Lexington really needs another fancy downtown hotel, surely there’s a parking lot somewhere that could be used instead'

This drives me crazy. While I hate a surface parking lot also there really are not that many and very few of any size now that Main and Rose has been built. Other than the two huge ones for Rupp there really is nothing all that large left.I do hope they do something with those but they are owned by the city and it sounds like they want to use it to build a new Rupp Arena so those are not available. It just isn't true that there are tons of empty parking lots that can be easily redeveloped. A lot of people have this idea of downtown and it simply isn't true. There are several that you could maybe do a small building on but nothing large.
You could, however, knock down everything West of The Dame and leave all the current businesses and still be able to build on 3/4+ of the block. I think the problem with this would be the underground parking but I would think you could work around that. I don't think the idea of saving the facades has any merit since the only attractive building in that area is the Dame.

Also, it isn 'another' fancy hotel. It would be the only fancy hotel.

Thanks G-man... I think you now get what a lot people are hoping for as well.

After looking at aerials of the downtown area, I wish they would of just put the highrise where that parking lot is between the historic buildings. That would of been best in IMO. You save the establishments and get rid of a parking lot.

That parking lot isn't very big. You could not do much there.

I suggested demoing the buildings along Limestone, since 4/5 buildings are not historic or not worth saving. That would give you much more room and have two corner parcels available.

Did anyone else go to the Wake Up Lexington event at the Kentucky? I was there, but we could not find a seat. We tried to listen from beyond the doorway, but we gave up. I'm hoping this will be available on line at some point. It was great to see an overflow crowd come out for this.

Thought i would finally post some information on the forum :)

"Gray Suggests Hotel Design Competition"
CENTREPOINTE DEVELOPER OPEN TO IDEAS

Vice Mayor Jim Gray yesterday proposed an international design competition to come up with a possible new design for the proposed CentrePointe hotel and condominium project on Main Street.

He called the project "massive" and out of scale with downtown.

Gray met late Friday afternoon with developer Dudley Webb to propose an international competition, with Michael Speaks, new dean of the University of Kentucky College of Design, serving as an adviser to the competition.

Webb asked Gray to submit his ideas in writing. "We will look at them," Webb said. "If it's a design competition of ideas, certainly we are flexible."

While Webb would not commit to a redesign of the project, he said, "It is worth having a conversation about."

Architects for the project are Culpepper, McAuliffe and Meaders Inc. of Atlanta, partnered with Sherman Carter Barnhart architectural firm of Lexington.

Webb acknowledged criticism of the project but said that, in the last couple of weeks, "The atmosphere has gotten a little more conciliatory. Everybody wants to do what is best for Lexington."

Webb plans to attend the "Awake Lexington" event, a rally to preserve the block where the project would go, at the Kentucky Theatre at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

Webb said the building has to be big enough to justify the cost. He projects spending $10 million just for the land. "Any architect is going to have to respect that," Webb said. "We can't have a four-story building on that site."

Also, launching an international design competition would push the completion date further into the future. When CentrePointe was announced, Webb said he wanted the project on "an aggressive schedule" so it would be completed in time for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in the fall of 2010.

The design as unveiled on March 4 shows a 40-story tower that would include a major four-star hotel with 243 rooms and 77 residential condominiums with 26,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor.

However, Webb said the height of the building has been scaled back five stories.

The proposed CentrePointe covers a block bounded by West Main, West Vine, South Limestone and South Upper. Currently on the block are 14 buildings, some eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Plans call for razing the structures to make way for the project.

Because a portion of the block lies within the Courthouse Area Design District, the development must be approved by the Courthouse Design Review Board. The board must also give its OK to the demolition of buildings in this zone.

On Wednesday, a public hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. in the Urban County Council chambers at the Government Center. The CentrePointe project will be presented to the board for approval or disapproval. The public also will have an opportunity to comment.

Preservationists say they want to see the block redeveloped, but with new construction done in a way to preserve some or all of the old facades. However, Webb said most of the facades are unstable and "not worthy of preservation."

Gray said the new project will have a significant impact on the economic and cultural viability of downtown.

"Big buildings alone don't make a downtown exciting," he said. "People make a downtown -- pedestrians on the sidewalk with fun things to do, small shops, cafŽs, creating a quality of life that stimulates economic activity downtown."

Speaks, who assumed his new post only a month and a half ago, said he had seen the CentrePointe project.

"I understand the opposition, but I understand the need for development," he said. "It's not an issue of development or not development, it's an issue of smart development or not smart development."

Speaks came to UK from California, where he taught and was head of graduate studies at the Southern California Institute of Architecture. He also taught at the University of California at Los Angeles.

An international competition would give an opportunity "to really test out the current proposal and to see what alternatives might be possible, especially given the range of design talent in the world today."

A competition would present a new opportunity to look at "not just that building, but at that site. It seems very important to meet, to retain the cultural DNA of the city" that the CentrePointe design might wipe away.

Did anyone else go to the Wake Up Lexington event at the Kentucky? I was there, but we could not find a seat. We tried to listen from beyond the doorway, but we gave up. I'm hoping this will be available on line at some point. It was great to see an overflow crowd come out for this.

Are you serious? Wow. I had to leave for an out-of-town trip so I couldn't make it. That's great that we had THAT many show up for the event; it's good that others are informed of what this development is about and what could be lost (outside of what's been posted at the H-L).

Are you serious? Wow. I had to leave for an out-of-town trip so I couldn't make it. That's great that we had THAT many show up for the event; it's good that others are informed of what this development is about and what could be lost (outside of what's been posted at the H-L).

It was very nice to see. It was hard to hear what all was going on, but I do know that one of the Webb's was in attendance, so it's encouraging. Not to take away from the significance of the turnout, but it was in the State Theater and not in the Kentucky. There were a good fifty or so people that could not find seats and tried to stand outside the theater or in the doorway to see what was being said. I was not expecting that kind of turnout.

I'm sorry I couldn't be there but the sabbath comes first. Maybe a compromise is possible. I've seen these thing before and I always get my hopes up.

CentrePointe protest packs Kentucky Theatre

By Michelle Ku

MKU@HERALD-LEADER.COM

The buildings on the block where the proposed CentrePointe hotel and condominium project is slated for are historic because they depict the evolution of Lexington, Janie-Rice Brother told a packed room at the Kentucky Theatre Saturday.

The 14 buildings, at least 10 of which are eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, are a tangible link to Lexington's past with visible signs of more than a century of construction, architectural styles and renovation, Brother said. "They tell the story of our community, they are an embodiment of a city's originality, of it's character."
Brother, who works at the Kentucky Heritage Council, was speaking at "Wake Up Lexington," a rally to preserve the block bounded by West Main, West Vine, South Limestone and South Upper. Plans call for razing all 14 buildings to make way for CentrePointe.

Because a portion of the block lies within the Courthouse Area Design District, the development must be approved by the Courthouse Design Review Board. The board must also sign off on the demolition of the buildings in the zone.

On Wednesday, the project will be presented to the board for approval or disapproval during a public hearing scheduled for 2 p.m. in council chambers of the Urban County Government Center, 200 East Main Street.

At the rally, speakers talked about the importance of the block where The Dame and Buster's are located. Examples of projects that incorporated historic buildings were displayed. A short documentary about the history of the block was shown.

Between 400 to 450 people attended the rally.

"We've been getting emails from thousands of people, but to look at the the back of the theater to see we have people in the aisles, we have people in the front row sitting on the floor, it overwhelms," said Hayward Wilkirson, president of the board of directors of Preserve Lexington, which organized the rally.

Wilkirson said Preserve Lexington's goal was to reach a compromise with Dudley Webb, the developer of CentrePointe, for a development with cutting-edge architecture while preserving the historic fabric of the block.
Webb attended Saturday's rally.

Everything that was said here about downtown is legitimate, he said.

"We share the same concerns," he said. "We want to do what's best for the community. It's one of the reasons I came, to see if there were new ideas."

The design for CentrePointe isn't cast in concrete, Webb said. When CentrePointe was first announced on March 4, designs showed a 40-story tower that would include a major four-star hotel with 243 rooms and 77 residential condominiums with 26,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor.

Since then, the height of the building has been scaled back by five stories in response to concerns. The building is now at the absolute minimum to make the project possible, Webb said.

"We'd love to incorporate the facades of the old buildings, but a couple of them maybe could be saved," Webb said. "But beyond that, most are decrepit and falling or have been modified to the point that they aren't historic anymore."

There would be problems saving the buildings because they would crumble once blasting for the underground parking begins, Webb said.

Since several of the buildings on the block are already gone, the task of salvaging the buildings is that much more difficult, Webb said. "When we did Victorian Square for example, that was 17 contiguous buildings you could really do something with and make a grandiose statement."

^^If that many people show up at the board meeting, I doubt you will see this project get approved.

That parking lot isn't very big. You could not do much there.

Oh, you'd be suprised. I've seen highrises easily get built on parking lots twice as small as this one.

Well, I recall a Mariott (or another hotel chain) incorporating the facades of several "run-down" buildings into a high-rise project in Louisville. Very tasteful and it worked very well, with the first-floors of the former buildings hosting varying businesses. While not all of the facades need (or should) be saved with the Centrepointe project -- as many have been heavily modified that they resemble nothing like the original -- there can be reuse for the Dame/Mad Hatter facade. Too bad the Woolworth building is no longer standing...

Too bad the Woolworth building is no longer standing...

After looking at the Asa Chinn collection, too bad what preceded th e Woolworth building is no longer standing

Eastern State deal surviving talks (http://www.kentucky.com/454/story/361252.html)
Budget negotiators leaning toward spending cuts
By Jack Brammer And Art Jester, Herald-Leader, March 30, 2008

FRANKFORT -- Key lawmakers negotiating details of the state's budget agreed Saturday to replace Eastern State Hospital in Lexington and concocted a new plan that would fund two new bridges over the Ohio River in Louisville with tolls.

But even after five days of negotiations, much work remains for the budget conference committee that is trying to resolve differences between the House and Senate over the two-year spending plan.

Work will resume Sunday, although no time was specified.

The two sides have not agreed on any tax increases or most other revenue-boosting measures, so they're preparing a "bare-bones" budget with deep spending cuts.

Given the slow pace of negotiations Saturday, Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, said he has "no idea where these negotiations are going."

House Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, said he thinks lawmakers will pass a budget by Wednesday, but said the Democratic-controlled House wants to make sure that education and human services are funded before construction projects.

Still, several of the conferees said the two sides have agreed on a plan to build a new Eastern State Hospital on the University of Kentucky's Coldstream Research Campus in northern Fayette County.

Since the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government will issue bonds for the $129 million project, there is no cost to the state over the next two years.

The House and Senate had clashed over who should run the hospital.

The Senate budget bill guarantees a contract to build and operate the mental hospital to the Bluegrass Regional Mental Health-Mental Retardation Board, which now operates the facility. The House wants the state to build the facility and the operational contract to be open to competition.

Rep. Jimmie Lee, D-Elizabethtown, said the deal closely resembles the House plan.

Under the House-Senate agreement, Bluegrass would get first crack at proposing a plan for operating the new hospital. It would get the contract if its plan met the state's standards.

If Bluegrass did not get approval, then operation of the hospital would be open to competitive bids.

Bluegrass would not be allowed to build the new hospital under the agreement.

"This is as we've always intended," Lee said. "No one should construct a hospital except the state of Kentucky through a competitive bidding process."

Lee said a road and bridge would have to be built before construction could begin on the new hospital site. He said the early phases of construction would begin in mid- to late-2009, if there are no snags in the bureaucratic procedures.

Lee engineered a complicated land swap in which the new Eastern State would be built on UK's research property; Bluegrass Community and Technical College would create a new campus on Eastern State's current 58-acre site on West Fourth Street at Newtown Pike; and UK would take over the BCTC buildings on Cooper Drive.

Meanwhile Saturday, Williams outlined to the budget negotiators a plan to use short-term federal bonds to fund two new bridges in Louisville over the Ohio River. Tolls would repay the debt.

Richards said the House is in "essential agreement" with the plan.

Williams said language could be put in the budget to use so-called GARVEE bonds for the project and stipulate that the Kentucky Turnpike Authority could issue tolls to retire the debt on the bonds. He said the tolls would be from $1 to $1.25 per crossing.

Such a plan, Williams said, would keep the cost of federal money for the project to a minimum and free up more federal dollars for other projects in Jefferson County and throughout the state.

The Senate's first version of the state budget added $130 million for a total of $341 million for the Louisville bridges project. The extra money would have come from other federally funded road projects, half of them in Jefferson County.

The budget negotiating committee met publicly for about an hour Saturday. Some of its members had met privately earlier in the day with Beshear and Transportation Secretary Joe Prather. Several members of breakout groups of the committee were working informally behind closed doors throughout the day.

Richards said the initial hope was for the committee to finish its work Saturday night, which would allow the two chambers to vote on a revised budget Tuesday and then recess until April 14 and 15 to consider any vetoes by the governor.

With the slow pace of the committee, that schedule may have to be changed so that the chambers vote on the revised budget on Wednesday and then have only April 15 for consideration of vetoes, Richards said. The state Constitution does not allow the legislature to meet beyond April 15.

Are you serious? Wow. I had to leave for an out-of-town trip so I couldn't make it. That's great that we had THAT many show up for the event; it's good that others are informed of what this development is about and what could be lost (outside of what's been posted at the H-L).

I'm not sure what is so great about those broke down facades. They're not very impressive to the eye. In my opinion we greatly need to put something there worthy of a mid-downtown location. I understand maintianing historical value, but at some point it's time to move on to the bigger and better. I firmly believe the time has come for this prime location.

^^It's not that they're only historic. It's where the nightlife of downtown Lexington is. If all of these businesses are forced to pack up and move, they'd be spread out which would cause the nightlife district there to end.

I'm sorry I couldn't be there but the sabbath comes first. Maybe a compromise is possible. I've seen these thing before and I always get my hopes up.

CentrePointe protest packs Kentucky Theatre

By Michelle Ku

MKU@HERALD-LEADER.COM

The buildings on the block where the proposed CentrePointe hotel and condominium project is slated for are historic because they depict the evolution of Lexington, Janie-Rice Brother told a packed room at the Kentucky Theatre Saturday.

The 14 buildings, at least 10 of which are eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, are a tangible link to Lexington's past with visible signs of more than a century of construction, architectural styles and renovation, Brother said. "They tell the story of our community, they are an embodiment of a city's originality, of it's character."
Brother, who works at the Kentucky Heritage Council, was speaking at "Wake Up Lexington," a rally to preserve the block bounded by West Main, West Vine, South Limestone and South Upper. Plans call for razing all 14 buildings to make way for CentrePointe.

Because a portion of the block lies within the Courthouse Area Design District, the development must be approved by the Courthouse Design Review Board. The board must also sign off on the demolition of the buildings in the zone.

On Wednesday, the project will be presented to the board for approval or disapproval during a public hearing scheduled for 2 p.m. in council chambers of the Urban County Government Center, 200 East Main Street.

At the rally, speakers talked about the importance of the block where The Dame and Buster's are located. Examples of projects that incorporated historic buildings were displayed. A short documentary about the history of the block was shown.

Between 400 to 450 people attended the rally.

"We've been getting emails from thousands of people, but to look at the the back of the theater to see we have people in the aisles, we have people in the front row sitting on the floor, it overwhelms," said Hayward Wilkirson, president of the board of directors of Preserve Lexington, which organized the rally.

Wilkirson said Preserve Lexington's goal was to reach a compromise with Dudley Webb, the developer of CentrePointe, for a development with cutting-edge architecture while preserving the historic fabric of the block.
Webb attended Saturday's rally.

Everything that was said here about downtown is legitimate, he said.

"We share the same concerns," he said. "We want to do what's best for the community. It's one of the reasons I came, to see if there were new ideas."

The design for CentrePointe isn't cast in concrete, Webb said. When CentrePointe was first announced on March 4, designs showed a 40-story tower that would include a major four-star hotel with 243 rooms and 77 residential condominiums with 26,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor.

Since then, the height of the building has been scaled back by five stories in response to concerns. The building is now at the absolute minimum to make the project possible, Webb said.

"We'd love to incorporate the facades of the old buildings, but a couple of them maybe could be saved," Webb said. "But beyond that, most are decrepit and falling or have been modified to the point that they aren't historic anymore."

There would be problems saving the buildings because they would crumble once blasting for the underground parking begins, Webb said.

Since several of the buildings on the block are already gone, the task of salvaging the buildings is that much more difficult, Webb said. "When we did Victorian Square for example, that was 17 contiguous buildings you could really do something with and make a grandiose statement."


-------------------------------------------------

I agree with some of the statements made above, but when Gray "called the project "massive" and out of scale with downtown." I cringed with frustration. Where else, or what else can we do to spark a pedestrian boom in downtown. I don't believe the current structures are helping in the effort, so what conclusion does that leads us to...change. And in order for change to take place a few sacrificial moves will have to be established. The design competition is a fresh idea that might spawn some awesome results, but I fear many of them will be deemed too massive, or outlandish, ect. Which in essence could possibly render an open minded design-off pointless. Obvisiously it's going to be impossibe to please every single Lexington citizen. I believe it would be extremely beneficial to get away from trying to please every single person in the city and focus on the more important goal at hand. A more eccomonically flourishing downtown with an abundance of pedestrian flow on the streets. Transformations of certain prime locations will be a crucial element, most likely unaviodable. I simple don't understand the fear some people possess regarding some of what I believe to be ugly building facades, eye sores that are potentially blocking the newer, more financially sound ehancements that are currently possible. After all I thought this was the bottom line goal of all of this urban development. Yet, the people of the city are doing there best to contridict this seemly obvious goal, I mean won't this urban growth slow the spawling of the city and save tons of valuable farmland that is actually a staple of the cities beauty, what are those broke down facades doing for the city?

^^It's not that they're only historic. It's where the nightlife of downtown Lexington is. If all of these businesses are forced to pack up and move, they'd be spread out which would cause the nightlife district there to end.


With the new arena on the way the "downtown" area will be stretching towards the Manchester St. area. I personally discussed this with Carl Hall and according to him a new 12- 15 story hotel will most likely be built in the parking lot behind Rupp arena causing the strech of downtown. On top of that there will soon be several new lofts and condos in this area. I think this could be a great chance for some of these venues to get established on the outskirts of downtown, which will soon be bustling with night life activity. It could possibly be a great plus for these venues. Better parking, cheaper rent, new cliental, new exposure, updated facilities better equipped to handle larger crowds. Instead of fighting tooth and nail, embrassing the future could possible send these venues to great new heights.

^^Why would you want the venues to be on the outskirts of downtown instead of in the center? I'm just glad I live in a city where the whole downtown is the nightlife instead of just a little part of it. Lexington should look to Greenville like other cities have for how to make a downtown truly successful.

With the new arena on the way the "downtown" area will be stretching towards the Manchester St. area. I personally discussed this with Carl Hall and according to him a new 12- 15 story hotel will most likely be built in the parking lot behind Rupp arena causing the strech of downtown. On top of that there will soon be several new lofts and condos in this area. I think this could be a great chance for some of these venues to get established on the outskirts of downtown, which will soon be bustling with night life activity. It could possibly be a great plus for these venues. Better parking, cheaper rent, new cliental, new exposure, updated facilities better equipped to handle larger crowds. Instead of fighting tooth and nail, embrassing the future could possible send these venues to great new heights.

This is the first I have heard of the developments (in specific) for the Rupp lots. Is there more information available? There are many here who are... for the lack of a better word, drooling for something to be built there (after what was lost for the parking lots).

a 15 story hotel in that area would be pretty cool. That would be great if downtown would grow out that way. Rupp, I heard the city was getting an estimate on a 24,000 seat arena. Why would you guys build a new arena if you add 1,000 seating? I would rather stick with rupp and its history. But hey what do i know?

I'm definitely in support of a new arena. The revenue that luxury suites could bring in would definitely give a huge boost to future events in the new arena. Also, the sky is the limit with the building up the area around the new arena.

I understand the importance of luxury sweets. However, I think it is important that the arena is at least 26,000 people. I don't know if the public will be behind a new arena, because tradition of this basketball program is more important then the city moving forward.

^^:weird: 26,000? For what? It will be half empty the entire time. Bigger isn't always better. Make it 15,000.

^^:weird: 26,000? For what? It will be half empty the entire time. Bigger isn't always better. Make it 15,000.

You know nothing about UK basketball is seems. They will have no problem filling every seat. You may have a point about it usefulness for other events, but that is the same issue Rupp currently faces and it has been very successful. If a new arena is built, Rupp could be converted to a smaller venue and more convention space etc.

^^:weird: 26,000? For what? It will be half empty the entire time. Bigger isn't always better. Make it 15,000.

LOL, G-man we moved out of memorial coliseum cuz that was too small. Now it seems 23,000 seats isnt enough. G-man you don't understand that uk basketball could sell 40,000 tickets for every sec home game.

^^I guess people in Lexington don't have anything better to do but go to a basketball game. :lol: Either that or ride horses. I noticed that Rupp was built in 1976. 32 years=new arena should be built.

^^I guess people in Lexington don't have anything better to do but go to a basketball game. :lol: Either that or ride horses. I noticed that Rupp was built in 1976. 32 years=new arena should be built.

You really have no clue what you're talking about.

You really have no clue what you're talking about.

Yes I do. Show me the mountains and ocean near Lexington? No offense. Lexington is a great and beautiful city. I'm just afraid that I would be bored there. Where do you guys go hiking, kayaking, mountain biking, etc. at? :dunno: :cry: It's not fair. How come you guys get the highrises and major university? :bash: Fayette County only has 4,000 more people than Spartanburg County here for crying out loud. You don't see them getting highrises. Yes, i'm jealous and i'm not scared to admit it. Quit hogging it all. Save some for the squirrels. :rant: This is all bigwilley's fault.

Yes I do. Show me the mountains and ocean near Lexington? No offense. Lexington is a great and beautiful city. I'm just afraid that I would be bored there. Where do you guys go hiking, kayaking, mountain biking, etc. at? :dunno: :cry: It's not fair. How come you guys get the highrises and major university? :bash: Fayette County only has 4,000 more people than Spartanburg County here for crying out loud. You don't see them getting highrises. Yes, i'm jealous and i'm not scared to admit it. Quit hogging it all. Save some for the squirrels. :rant: This is all bigwilley's fault.

Minus the ocean, there are places to hike, mountain bike, and kayak...Red River Gorge, Raven Run. Don't make assumptions when you have not been here. Part of the reason there is a high rise being discussed is because Lexington is fairly compact. True, there is some sprawl. However, Lexington is surrounded by valuable farmland that no one wants developed. The only place to go is up instead of out. I would imagine that Spartanburg County has a lot more options to spread out than we do here.

^^Sounds nice. :) It's not fair though. :cry: Compact? Look at all the highrises in Atlanta and how sprawled out they are. We had at least 10 highrises proposed for downtown Greenville in the last three years. Guess how many have been built? None of them were even over 20 stories either. Lexington though gets 30-40 story highrises proposed for their downtown and they get built. Bigwilley, get down here and straighten this mess out. You made me jealous of Lexington.

Yeah, the Lexington region is like... a paradise for outdoors enthusiasts. Within an easy driving distance, there is the Red River Gorge/Clifty Wilderness, Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Beaver Creek Wilderness/Cumberland Falls region, Cumberland Gap, and a state that boasts more resort parks than any other state (and dozens of state parks, nature preserves, and privately-owned nature preserves). There are also a few designated Wild and Scenic Rivers, and huge lakes (Cave Run, Lake Cumberland, for instance). I should know... I backpack and photograph these nearly every weekend :)

As for the compactness of Lexington, we have a well developed urban service and rural service boundary program. When it comes up to a discussion every (5 or 10?) years, the discussions become very heated and polarized. There is also a Protected Development Rights program (PDR) that allows farms to be protected from development _forever_. You can find out more about it here (http://www.lfucg.com/pdr/index.aspx) and how extensive it is.

Because we are running out of developable land in the urban service boundary, it pushes development either up or more dense in Lexington/Fayette Co., or elsewhere like Jessamine and Garrard (where there is a lot of stupid, low-density sprawl). Scott has pretty strict zoning (very lax prior to Toyota) and an up-and-coming PDR program; Clark has very strict zoning; ditto for Woodford. Madison's zoning is pretty lax.

^^ You need to come up here for a grand tour. You missed a lot the last time you were up here :P

Yeah, the Lexington region is like... a paradise for outdoors enthusiasts. Within an easy driving distance, there is the Red River Gorge/Clifty Wilderness, Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Beaver Creek Wilderness/Cumberland Falls region, Cumberland Gap, and a state that boasts more resort parks than any other state (and dozens of state parks, nature preserves, and privately-owned nature preserves). There are also a few designated Wild and Scenic Rivers, and huge lakes (Cave Run, Lake Cumberland, for instance). I should know... I backpack and photograph these nearly every weekend :)

As for the compactness of Lexington, we have a well developed urban service and rural service boundary program. When it comes up to a discussion every (5 or 10?) years, the discussions become very heated and polarized. There is also a Protected Development Rights program (PDR) that allows farms to be protected from development _forever_. You can find out more about it here (http://www.lfucg.com/pdr/index.aspx) and how extensive it is.

Because we are running out of developable land in the urban service boundary, it pushes development either up or more dense in Lexington/Fayette Co., or elsewhere like Jessamine and Garrard (where there is a lot of stupid, low-density sprawl). Scott has pretty strict zoning (very lax prior to Toyota) and an up-and-coming PDR program; Clark has very strict zoning; ditto for Woodford. Madison's zoning is pretty lax.

Those farms that are protected against development is a blessing in disguise. You guys are lucky. You get urbanity. We just get ugly sprawl upon sprawl and it sucks. Just look at maps.live.com if you don't believe me. We can't go up because the developers here suck. The politicians are also to blame. You also have outdoor areas that I didn't even know about. Next time I drive up to Madison to see my aunt, i'm stopping by. Sounds too nice to pass up. I stayed at Red Roof Inn in Lexington last time I was up there but it was on the outskirts of town. :( I want to see the inner-city. :)

^^Sounds nice. :) It's not fair though. :cry: Compact? Look at all the highrises in Atlanta and how sprawled out they are. We had at least 10 highrises proposed for downtown Greenville in the last three years. Guess how many have been built? None of them were even over 20 stories either. Lexington though gets 30-40 story highrises proposed for their downtown and they get built. Bigwilley, get down here and straighten this mess out. You made me jealous of Lexington.

At least you guys have football....kinda:lol:

^^Kind of? Which team beat us last year in the bowl? Oh wait. :bash: Just another reason to make me jealous.

Lol, well.....maybe you guys are the number 1 baseball team in the country??? Cuz kentucky is number 2, is clemson number 1?

Lol, well.....maybe you guys are the number 1 baseball team in the country??? Cuz kentucky is number 2, is clemson number 1?

Only in my dreams. :lol:

I guess there is only one thing left.....who has more famous ppl

I guess there is only one thing left.....who has more famous ppl

What's famous people? :dunno: :D

My wife lived in Greenville for 2 years. The downtown is nice but seems like a much smaller city than it is. Greenville has done the vast majority of its growing in the last 40 years so most of its development has been suburban style and very sprawling. Lexington was a pretty large city back to the 1800's with a lot of wealth so we have a lot of beautiful old houses and structures that Greenville lacks. They have done a fantastic job with Main St, one of the best in a small town that I have seen, but their dowtown disinigrates into suburb very fast. We have 15+ story buildings from the turn of the century. Greenville really doesn't have any of that. We also have a major university and smaller college all close to downtown and two major horse racing tracks. There is way more going on in Lexington than in Greenville in my opinion.

I do think they are a good model on Main St development, however. If you are ever near there I highly recommend checking it out. Two way streets, angled parking, nice size trees, really nice pedestrian scaled lighting, wide sidewalks with mid block bump outs for pedestrians including speed humps to slow down traffic. It is really well done. They have focused everything towards Main and made the other streets service streets with large surface parking lots. It works really well. They also did a major rehab of a downtown park that is beautiful with a river/walking bridge that is simpy stunning. It is much more of an entertainment district and much less of a business district. They are much more manufacturing centered economy and so they have less need for downtown office space. This makes the downtown seem a lot less substancial but it also makes it easy to scale down and function as an entertainment area.

The information on Greenville is very enlightening toward how g-man thinks, but this is the Lexington Development News thread. G-man already has two or more threads on Greenville, to which he posts regularly and I believe that he should learn more about Lexington, before he posts here. Comparing two cities of similar population and size without looking at their historical, economic or social natures will lead you to wrong conclusions.

I don't want Greenville to become like Lexington nor do I want Lexington to become like Greenville or any other city. I want Lexington to remain its own unique community, with its quirks and eccentricities that it appears that many wish to change. It reminds me of a marriage, where a young lady finds her a guy, marries him and sets about to change him into something he is not, nor wants to be. Sometimes, he needs to grow up and sometimes she has to let go of her "fairy tale dream", but they both need to compromise and come together. When that happens then we can go forward. That is called progress.

^^I guess people in Lexington don't have anything better to do but go to a basketball game. :lol: Either that or ride horses. I noticed that Rupp was built in 1976. 32 years=new arena should be built.

This coming from a guy that sits around all day and posts on this site and talks about how he is jealous of other cities (Lexington is included in that list).

This coming from a guy that sits around all day and posts on this site and talks about how he is jealous of other cities (Lexington is included in that list).

Same old story different day. Get over it. Not like I haven't heard other forumers say this before. :baeh3:

I believe someone had mentioned this before, but it's now official...Mia's will move to the old Annabelle's spot.

http://www.kentucky.com/181/story/362645.html

One down, two to go. I hope the others can find good spots too.

a 15 story hotel in that area would be pretty cool. That would be great if downtown would grow out that way. Rupp, I heard the city was getting an estimate on a 24,000 seat arena. Why would you guys build a new arena if you add 1,000 seating? I would rather stick with rupp and its history. But hey what do i know?



http://media.www.kykernel.com/media/storage/paper305/news/2007/10/23/CampusNews/Lexington.Explores.Replacing.Rupp.Arena-3049408.shtml

oooooooooooooooooooooo, i thought it was just 24k, I am glad it is 24-30k. It makes more sense now :)

oooooooooooooooooooooo, i thought it was just 24k, I am glad it is 24-30k. It makes more sense now :)


ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, take it easy my friend.

I was just expressing myself :(

Delayed bond sale could kill Horse Park hotel (http://www.kentucky.com/254/story/364945.html)
STATE OFFICIALS SAY DEAL MUST GO THROUGH BY APRIL 15
By Linda B. Blackford, Herald-Leader, April 3, 2008

The proposed luxury hotel at the Kentucky Horse Park could be in jeopardy because the bonds to finance the deal haven't been sold.

And, if they aren't sold by April 15, the deal is finished, according to officials of the Finance and Administration Cabinet.

That deadline is necessary for the hotel to be finished in time for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, according to a letter sent by the cabinet's general counsel, Jeffrey Mosley, to the developers.

"April 15 was a key date," said John Nicholson, director of the Kentucky Horse Park. "We do not want to have a hotel under construction while the World Games are going on."

Ryan Barrow of Ross, Sinclaire, which is selling the bonds, said they have not been sold solely because of the economic downturn, which has left bond-insurance companies in trouble and banks with liquidity problems.

"With any market swing downward, it means more time," he said.

Mosley's letter emphasized the "considerable amount of effort" by the state to set up the financing "facilitated on a very short time line."

In addition to the bond sale, April 15 is also the deadline for a final ground lease and agreement with Westin, the hotel's luxury brand.

Neither of the key developers -- Joe Straka of Boorn Partners in Cincinnati or Brad Burgess of the Thayer Group -- returned calls requesting comment yesterday.

They are the creators of a complicated financing plan to build the hotel using $118 million in tax-exempt bonds issued by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority. About $75 million of those are backed by the developers, but the commonwealth could be liable for an additional $42.17 million if the hotel doesn't succeed.

A feasibility study paid for by Burgess said the hotel would have 75 percent occupancy with room rates of $175 a night. However, local hotel managers have dismissed those projections as unrealistic. By comparison, The Marriott Griffin Gate Resort on Newtown Road has an occupancy rate of 64 percent.

The developers are also eligible for a tax rebate of up to $39 million and a $3 million loan to help them make debt payments in case they run short of cash. The tax rebate is provided by legislation to encourage private development in tourism projects.

Burgess, a Florida businessman who now lives in Lexington, came up with the idea of building the 265-room luxury Westin hotel, spa and retail project with a non-profit foundation.

In March 2007, he created the Bluegrass Equine and Tourism Foundation. Two weeks later, he created KHPWESLUX LLC, a for-profit company made up of his own Thayer Group and Boorn Partners, founded by John Boorn, Mary Lynne Boorn and Joe Straka. KHPWESLUX bid on and won the last state proposal to build the hotel, beating out Corporex of Northern Kentucky. KHPWESLUX will make a $5 million development fee on the deal.

After the debt service is paid off, the foundation will distribute any profits to local equine and tourism groups.

The developers had initially mentioned a groundbreaking of April 15, but, without a bond sale, nothing can move forward.

The deal received approval from several state agencies, but has also been criticized by state and city officials.

"They could always renegotiate. But the reason the letter was sent is because the deal is time-sensitive," said Lori Flanery, deputy secretary of the finance cabinet. "My guess is they would revisit it again after the Games."

http://tomeblen.wordpress.com/

street view renders of Centrepoint here

They look nice.

New clinic will triple space for student care (http://media.www.kykernel.com/media/storage/paper305/news/2008/04/04/CampusNews/New-Clinic.Will.Triple.Space.For.Student.Care-3303750.shtml)
By Erica Mitchell, Kentucky Kernel, April 4, 2008

The student health clinic is making the move to a bigger and brighter building with more windows, colorful rooms and more than three times the space as the old facility.

UK will open the new four-story University Health Service building on May 19 after almost two years of construction, said UHS Associate Director Karen Clancy.

"This is an important milestone in the history of the university, because what it is says is that the university is very supportive of the students," Clancy said.

The new building, which is adjacent to the Kentucky Clinic and the Wethington Health Building, is the first building at UK to be dedicated entirely to student health.

UK allotted $25 million to build the new facility to accommodate a growth in the number of students over the next few years. With the approximately 73,000 visits from students and employees to the clinic each year, the new building should be more than amenable, Clancy said.

The extra space in the 73,000 square-foot building will allow for more privacy so students will not have to worry about a lack of confidentiality, Clancy said.

At the current facility, students explain their ailments to a nurse in one of the open cubicles in the waiting room as the nurse takes their blood pressure, temperature and weight. In the new facility, students will discuss their health care issues in a private exam room, Clancy said.

"There is a whole lot more space, and a lot more area for confidential health care," said Miranda Lyons, vice president for UK's student health advisory committee. "The organization of the building is just so much better than the old space."

Inside the current facility at the Kentucky Clinic, only a few windows let in light from outside. At the new building, many energy-efficient windows made of fritted glass help fill the facility with natural lights. The windows are designed to reduce heating and energy costs, and they also reflect the sun during the afternoons, said UHS Director Dr. Gregory Moore.

Rooms that face South Limestone Street have patches of blue, green, red and yellow on the walls, which can be seen from the street through the windows.

"When you are outside, you can look at this building and see these bright colors, and at night it is beautiful," Clancy said. "It is to kind of say: this is playful, this is a student area."

On the third floor, a wall stands as a divider in the lobby, which Moore said he hopes will one day be adorned with student artwork.

Moore also said he hopes there will be more student involvement in the new building.

All full-time UK students pay a mandatory fee as part of tuition that entitles them to most services at student health at no cost. The clinic also serves part-time and graduate students, and students' spouses.

Health services include a primary care clinic, nursing and gynecology clinics, health education services and a mental health clinic.

"There are students who have been on campus for two years and don't know we exist," he said. "The students are behind this building, and we certainly want them to know about it and to know all the services that are available to them."

Yeesh. I guess it was good that Main and Rose was not constructed to its original specifications and was downsized. The good aspect of this, is that prices for the units are lower now than when they first started selling, and that some units (at all of the projects) are now leaseable. Nunn and Main and Rose have 1br. units for $895/month start... which is a fantastic price.

Shadows over the condos (http://www.kentucky.com/254/story/368048.html)
LIENS, FOR-SALE SIGNS SHOW SLOWDOWN
By Beverly Fortune And Jim Jordan, Herald-Leader, April 6, 2008

If location, location, location are the first three rules of buying and selling real estate, then timing must be No. 4.

Hundreds of loft apartments and other condominiums are going on the market in downtown Lexington, just as the national real estate recession rolls over the Bluegrass.

Buyers have become scarce and developers uneasy.

Cracks are beginning to appear in a market that was once largely sheltered from the real estate recession:

• For-sale signs are visible at Main & Rose Lofts, the largest of the downtown projects. They are in windows of apartments that have never been occupied.

• Some developers are offering incentives, like a free garage at Kimball House Square and low-cost loans at Artek Lofts, to sweeten deals and lure buyers.

• Liens have been filed against three downtown projects -- The 500's on Main, Kimball House Square and NewPast on Main -- which means developers and contractors are having disputes over money.

• Lenders have tightened requirements for loans for both developers and condo buyers following the national collapse of the subprime mortgage market and some major lenders.

"Everybody is running scared," said Rob Parker, developer of The Mark Lofts at Woodland Park. He sold 10 of The Mark's 36 units at one event in March 2007, but only eight in the year since then.

"The market has definitely slowed down," agreed Kimball House developer Marc King, who has sold 17 of 39 condos.

"The market is flooded with units right now," said Greg Buchanan, a Realtor who represents Kimball House Square.

And another wave of condos could be on the way.

The proposed CentrePointe development plans to sell 77 condominiums in addition to its hotel and retail space. Developer Dudley Webb said about 20 of the condos have been pre-sold and he does not anticipate difficulty in marketing the other 57 units.

Meanwhile, mortgage companies are becoming more tight-fisted, less willing to loan money, said Buchanan. "People are not able to get certified for loans," he said, "because the credit market is a mess."

Louisville developer Bill Weyland with City Properties Group said lending agencies are demanding "a lot more proof" from developers that they have a market for their units.

"They want to know if the absorption rate is really going to be there," he said. "They are really concerned about making sure the developer knows who they are marketing to" -- and that means doing market surveys and getting hard numbers.

No one can escape, Parker said. "The economy is hurting everybody."

"Probably very few communities are not experiencing some sort of slowdown," said Phil Scherer, whose Commercial Kentucky Inc. is building the Fleur de Lis loft project in downtown Louisville.

"What you have to understand is it may be a slowdown from record levels of activity, sales and appreciation" between 2004 into 2007, he said.

Fleur de Lis has 82 units priced from $250,000 to $550,000, and there are purchase contracts on 33 units. "Everything over $500,000 has sold, " Scherer said.

Part of the problem is psychological, said several developers. Local residents read national reports about the deep real estate slumps on the East and West coasts and assume Lexington is in the same shape.

"That's not what we are seeing here," said Bill Lear, developer of several projects in the South Hill area near the University of Kentucky. The problems in Lexington and most of the Midwest are far less serious.

The housing market does not overheat in the Midwest like it does in Florida, Nevada or California and it returns to normal much faster, Lear said.

The perception of would-be buyers is "really, really bad," thanks to "the sky is falling" tone of national media reports, King said. "It really, really hurts. It hurts projects."

Raphael Bostic, a real estate professor at the University of Southern California who is often quoted by the national media, said "the condo market has pretty much fallen on hard times across the board. They are weak on the West Coast ... and eastern cities as well."

Bostic said condos are "the most volatile" of residential properties, because they are often purchased as investments and for recreational reasons.

"With the weakness in general housing markets, far fewer people are interested in buying second homes or investment properties," he said. "This is a big expenditure, and is one of the first to go when overall economic prospects sour."

Particularly hard hit are the "flippers" -- investors who plan to resell quickly for a profit -- and first-time home buyers who may be unnerved by price declines, Bostic added.

An estimated 30 percent of the units at Main & Rose Lofts were bought by investors to flip, said Bret Caller, one of the project's developers.

Those flippers might account for several of the 35 units at Main & Rose listed for sale on the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors' Web site and the for-sale signs in the windows of some unoccupied units.

Asked about sales, Caller said, "We have sold 75 (of 96) units; they are out of our name." He said closings on several more units will occur in the next 30 to 60 days. He acknowledged that the for-sale signs in windows where big S's were posted until recent weeks "doesn't look good."

Main & Rose was completed just as the housing market went into decline, he said, so more units could have sold if the economy had remained strong.

At the Mark, weakness in the housing market has flushed out flippers -- "scared them away" -- and they "won't be back for a while," Parker said.

To encourage owner occupancy, Artek Lofts on Old Georgetown Street arranged financing with National City Bank that owners who will occupy their units can qualify for a 4.25 percent interest rate, said developer Holly Wiedemann.

McGregor Square, a group of four older apartment buildings on Maxwell Street, has units from $84,900 to $160,000. It is tailored for young professionals who want to live downtown but can afford no more than $200,000.

Sales have slowed, but 11 of the 12 units in phase one at McGregor Square are sold and phase two is in progress, said Craig Johnson, vice president of Silvestri Craig Realtors. "We experienced a slowdown, but we have a great location, close to the bus terminal, the YMCA, convenient to UK and downtown."

Phase three, with 30 units, is set to begin in the fall.

Lear's Center Court project on South Upper Street has also benefited from proximity to the university. Phase one sold out, and construction started on 87 units in phase two. "We are in the enviable position of being between the University of Kentucky and downtown," he said. "We draw from the two biggest activity centers in Lexington, and that helps."

Vice Mayor Jim Gray, president and CEO of Gray Construction, an international engineering, design and construction firm based downtown, thinks the downturn in the local condo market will be short-lived.

"We may have a short-term dip," Gray said, "but because we have a limited housing supply downtown, it will rebound."

With baby boomer retirements and young professionals who want to live downtown, he said the market has a healthy future.

Those who live downtown seem to agree.

Debbie and Tom Westerfield of Versailles bought a 1,500-square-foot unit at The 500's as an investment before the building was completed. They paid $280,000 and spent an additional $35,000 to upgrade fixtures and other amenities.

The Westerfields think now is not the best time to sell, so they plan to use their condo for entertaining and then rent or sell it for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in 2010.

Michael Canan, 46, bought a unit in July from a flipper at The 500's on Main.

"He (the flipper) had to close or it would go back to the developer, and I bought it from him," Canan said.

Asked if his unit is for sale, Canan said, "I'm in sales. Anything I've got is for sale." If he should sell, Canan said he would be in the market for another unit at The 500's.

Seicer, I know I told you that this would happen back in June/July over on Urbanplanet. Back when the market was still good for some people.

This should come as no surprise to anyone.

Corporations will still buy the Centrerpointe condos and their tax payments will help fund the project.

"Corporations will still buy the Centrerpointe condos..."

Under what certainty?

Contractors file liens against 3 downtown condo projects (http://www.kentucky.com/211/story/368045.html)
By Jim Jordan, Herald-Leader, April 6, 2008

Liens have been filed against three downtown Lexington condominium projects.

A lien might signal that a developer and a contractor are in a dispute over cost or that the developer is having financial problems.

Developers of two of the projects -- The 500's on Main and the Kimball House Square -- say their liens result from disputes over costs.

Developers of the third project, NewPast on Main, did not return phone calls seeking an explanation.

A mechanics' lien, which can impede the sale or financing of a project, is generally filed by contractors who claim they have not been paid all they are owed for materials and labor.

Six companies have made filings against The 500's on Main beginning in 2007, but two have released their liens, presumably after being paid, according to records at the Fayette County Clerk's office. The total value of the current liens is nearly $289,530.

The largest was filed March 11 by Amtech of Kentucky Inc., which says it is owed $256,112.51 for electrical work.

That lien "will be cleared up within the next two or three weeks and we'll get that thing released," said J. Edward "Butch" Schneider, president of Schneider Designs, the developer.

"They (all the liens) are going to go away," Schneider said. "When you do a project that is as big as that is, there is always change orders that are disputed. People will file liens and you kind of set down at the table and ... get it worked out."

He said 35 of 42 condominiums in phase one have been sold and he has tentative commitments for 80 percent of the commercial space at The 500's. The second phase of the project is under construction on West Main Street adjacent to Victorian Square.

"If the bank didn't like the first phase," he said, "they wouldn't have put out $7 million for the next one."

On Tuesday, Miller Contracting filed a $13,679.53 lien against Kimball House Square and its developer, JTM Holdings.

That lien appears to be the first against that project since a series of liens were filed by D.S. Baesler Consulting and Construction for as much as $196,074 each in 2007. The Baesler liens have since been released.

Marcum King, who owns JTM, acknowledged the dispute. "I owe him some money, but he's not getting what he's asking for."

The lien against NewPast -- a claim of nearly $15,706 -- was filed in December by Thomas & Thomas Construction LLC. NewPast developers did not return phone calls seeking comment on the lien.

Under what certainty?

Under the certainty of looking past performance. Of looking at the PVA listings of 345 W Vine St.and realizing that of all the names listed, very few of them, if any at all lived there. The mailing addresses are in eastern Ky for the most part. Three units are owned by the same name, on different floors and not above each other. One belongs to Larry Addington of the Ashland area so I know that he doesn't live here. Another to Alex Campbell Jr. and I know that he lives elsewhere.

These are/were the highest, classiest condos with a view when built. This new building will be higher and they will move up.

Here is the progress as of an hour ago...

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a100/georgebglass/Picture.jpg

They are moving pretty swiftly. The same can be said about the new Pharmacy building at UK, where they are constructing small segments of the steel frame in an adjacent lot then hoisting them up via crane, speeding up the construction process.

Center Court as of this morning.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj84/cartmanlex/DSCN1236.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj84/cartmanlex/DSCN1234.jpg

And S Broadway

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj84/cartmanlex/DSCN1230.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj84/cartmanlex/DSCN1239.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj84/cartmanlex/DSCN1240.jpg

I wonder when they will get to work on the other buildings fronting S. Broadway on the westenr edge (the brown building in the last image). They are scheduled for demolition as part of the Newtown Pike project, and with the project, I hope they widen S. Broadway to at least include bike lanes...

Sorry for my ignorance, but what is the project along Broadway again?

The Kman...I think you mean Shelbourne (sometimes Shelburne) Plaza.

Make new BCTC model for infill (http://www.kentucky.com/591/story/370731.html)
Grab opportunity for inspired design
Editorial, Herald-Leader, April 9, 2008

It's understandable that some heads are spinning over the sudden relocation plans for the institution formerly known as Lexington Community College.

The move is still years away. But it's not too soon to start talking about how the new campus can best serve students, faculty, the surrounding neighborhoods and the downtown to its south.

The 68 acres that have been home to Eastern State Hospital offer a great opportunity for inspired planning and design.

One of the first orders of business must be consecrating an appropriate memorial to those who have been buried on the hospital's grounds.

Even then, the almost 70 acres should offer land enough for more than a new consolidated campus for Bluegrass Community and Technical College.

The opportunity for adjoining residential and commercial development makes the project even more exciting.

With the chance to build from the ground up in a rebounding area known for its historic architecture, BCTC can become the model for infill redevelopment, an appealing hub of educational and economic activity that should be made easily accessible by bus or bike or on foot.

The land swap and funding that will enable Eastern State to move to a desperately needed new facility on the University of Kentucky's Coldstream Research Campus sprang from the legislature with little public discussion.

But it is an obviously good idea that has won praise from many quarters and required a high degree of cooperation just to get this far.

Now the city of Lexington, UK and BCTC must involve the neighborhoods and development community in building on that collaboration and creating a place that will be every bit as as important to Lexington as UK and Transylvania University have been.

Make new BCTC model for infill (http://www.kentucky.com/591/story/370731.html)
Grab opportunity for inspired design

If history has taught us anything, now is the time for the Vice Mayor to impanel a blue ribbon committee and organize an international design competition for the campus of BCTC. Don't wait for it to get too far down the line.

^^
your retarded quit posting

^^ your retarded quit posting

So, you want a design competition for a privately funded project but not for a publicly funded one? Where is the logic in that?

And my retarded will not quit posting.

its not hard to tell when your being sarcastic
If your not going to quit posting at least add something useful
oh and an international design competition would be great for BCTC though
I would like to see it designed by Daniel Libeskind

oh and you sure do know your grammer thanks for correcting me
I gets a bad edumacation here in kentucky I cants help it

If I understand you correctly you want me to post things that agree with you and not post things that present actual facts. By that I mean real facts, not opinions and sentiments presented as facts. Facts that I can back up with documentation.

Yes exactly, now you're beginning to understand.

Bad Grammar Alert

Ain't gonna happen

If history has taught us anything, now is the time for the Vice Mayor to impanel a blue ribbon committee and organize an international design competition for the campus of BCTC. Don't wait for it to get too far down the line.

That is just hilarious.
:dance2::dance2::dance2::dance2:
:dance2::dance2::dance2::dance2:
:dance2::dance2::dance2::dance2:

Horse Park hotel isn't essential for World Games, official says (http://www.kentucky.com/779/story/372285.html)
By Jim Jordan, Herald-Leader, April 10, 2008

The executive director of the Kentucky Horse Park said Thursday that he is not optimistic that bonds for a resort hotel at the park can be sold by the Tuesday deadline.

John Nicholson told members of the World Games 2010 Foundation that he is "painfully aware" that the national economic slowdown might delay the $118 million tax-exempt bond issue until it is too late to complete the hotel in time for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

Fortunately, Nicholson said, the proposed 265-room Westin hotel, spa and retail project is "not an essential element" for the games, which are being organized by the foundation

It is an inevitability, he said, that a hotel will be built eventually at the park off Interstate 75 north of Lexington.

Officials of the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet sent a letter recently to advise project developers that the hotel project was in jeopardy if the April 15 deadline was not met.

If the project were to start after that, the complex would be under construction when the games begin on Sept. 25, 2010.

"We do not want to have a hotel under construction while the World Games are going on," Nicholson said earlier this month.

The sole reason for the delay in sale of the bonds is the national economic slowdown, bond brokers said.

The bonds would be issued by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority and paid off by the developers, who would be eligible for up to $39 million in tax rebates and a $3 million loan to help with debt payments in case they run short of cash.

Kentucky taxpayers could be liable for about $42 million if the project failed.

Terry Johnson, the foundation's vice president for external affairs and marketing, said the national downturn also has affected the recruiting of sponsors for the games by delaying corporate commitments.

"The good news," Johnson said, is that "we haven't been told 'no' by anybody."

Nevertheless, he told the board that more sponsors will be announced very soon.

Lexington Farmers Market gets city OK (http://www.kentucky.com/779/story/372683.html)
By Michelle Ku, Herald-Leader, April 10, 2008

The Urban County Council on Thursday approved a formal agreement giving the Lexington Farmers Market the right to operate on Vine Street on Saturdays.

The market's use of Vine Street became an issue last year when members of the Blue Grass Farmers' Market asked why the city provided the Lexington market with free space and other services on Vine Street.

They contended that it was discriminatory for the Lexington market to allow its members to sell their products wherever they want -- at stands on their farms, at markets in other counties, wholesale to restaurants in Lexington -- except at the other farmers market in Fayette County.

The agreement, approved in time for the Saturday opening of the Lexington market, details the services the city will provide to the market and the responsibilities of the market.

It also eliminates the non-compete clause that prevented members of the Lexington market from selling at the Blue Grass market, said Tom Blues, chairman of the council's Farmers Market Task Force. "We're not giving public space to an organization that discriminates against growers."

That means that any members of either market can sell at the other.

The Lexington market was comfortable with the elimination of the non-compete clause because the market board had already decided to remove it before negotiations began with the city, said Jeff Dabbelt, market manager with the Lexington market.

"We're looking forward to this season," Dabbelt said. "We're glad to be conducting business at our home market base on Vine Street."

Roger Postley, a founder of the Blue Grass market who alerted the council to the problem, said he was pleased with the removal of the non-compete clause.

Postley said one or two farmers who sell at the Lexington market have approached his market, on Richmond Road, about selling there.

Postley, who grows and sells heirloom tomatoes and peppers, doesn't plan on selling at the Lexington market, he said. "I'm in the other market. I'm happy."

In its agreement with the Lexington market, the city agreed to bag the parking meters on the north side of Vine Street on Fridays; tow vehicles that park along that side of the street on Saturday morning; block one lane of traffic on Vine; and allow the market to operate on Vine, a public right of way, at no charge. The city will also provide electricity and garbage service.

In exchange, the Lexington market will comply with all federal, state and local safety and environmental laws, adopt a sexual harassment policy, provide the city with monthly and annual reports and create permits that its members will display.

No action taken on Versailles rezoning (http://www.kentucky.com/779/story/372712.html)
Herald-Leader, April 10, 2008

The Versailles-Midway-Woodford County Planning and Zoning Commission took no action Thursday night on a rezoning sought by Rubloff Group Holdings for property on U.S. 60 and the U.S. 60 Bypass.

If approved, the rezoning would allow a Lowe's home improvement store to locate there, along with a hotel, restaurants and other free-standing stores. But Planning commission Chairman Carl Ellis announced that Robert Stilz, the attorney for Rubloff, and Hank Graddy Jr., the attorney for the Woodford Coalition, will continue to seek a compromise to the rezoning.

The coalition, a group of neighborhood interests that monitor development, hopes to salvage some aspects of the design standards that Rubloff had agreed to in 2000-01. The rezoning will be up for discussion again at the commission's May 8 meeting.

Shelbourne Plaza is going for their building permits on Tuesday.

Look for increased activity on that site real soon.

As the current version they submitted a few months ago, showing the project in a more suburbanized format? Or what they had originally submitted?

I suppose I should start F5ing the planning page for the revised design?

Continually accessing their site will not give you any more information.

The heading says: Plans for active review. These are plans as they are submitted and will not reflect any decisions made at the Planning Commission hearings.

The certified plans are not posted anywhere on their website

You must not detect sarcasm very well. :ohno:

As for the article below, I reviewed the plans a while back and noted that there were public lands set aside for a proposed walking path, with connections to varying streets. This is nothing new, and the homeowners are as usual complaining about how "unsafe" these walking paths really are.

Controversy Over Proposed Trail In Lexington Neighborhood (http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/17472019.html)
By Renee Charles, WKYT, April 10, 2008

Plans have been in the works for years, to create a series of walking and biking trails that would connect the county from the Kentucky Horse Park all the way to Jessamine County.

But one neighborhood is against a portion of the project called the West Hickman Trail because it would go through their back yards.
We took the concerns of people in The Pinacle Neighborhood to the city to get some answers.

Neighbors: Who will maintain the trail?

City: The government will. Just as with any other city project there is money allocated in the budget for upkeep.

Neighbors: Will police patrol the trail to make sure it's secure?

City: There is a new effort to have police patrol our trails.

Neighbors: How will this affect the wildlife and waterfowl we have in our neighborhood?

City: By adding vegetation it will not only help protect the creek and improve the flood plane which will in turn increase and improve the habitat.

Neighbors: There are two planned access points that go right in between houses. That means people will be walking in between peoples houses. It creates a lack of privacy and intrudes on their land.

City: The swaths of land were set aside long before the neighborhood was built.

Neighbors: This area is prone to flooding and with recent rains there was a serious sewer back up.

City: It was planned to be built in the flood plain, so we expect flooding.

Neighbors: There is no lighting.

City: It's up to the neighborhood if they want lighting.

Neighbors: Will people be walking up and down the trail day and night?

City: The plan is it open at dawn and close at dusk.

The West Hickman Trail is projected to be one and a half miles long, it will connect the neighborhood to a park and a school. The price tag for it is one and a half million dollars. There will be two bridges constructed and the trail will go under the existing clear water road bridge.
The city is waiting to gain right of way through a portion of the land owned by the neighborhood association.
When they get that access it may only be a few months before construction begins.

Or you don't do very well:poke:

:cheers:

does anyone know of any maps of this park system? It sounds like something that connects the horsepark and jesamine county would be pretty expansive.

Its more of a greenways/trails system.

Check the Greenway Master Plan page on the Planning website. That may be what you are looking for.

Thanks

I can't remember if I posted it before, but here is some information on the Justice property at E. Main and Kentucky.

http://www.lfucg.com/planning/zone_changes/08-04-april/MAR2008-9.pdf

12 residential units that range from 2,000 to 3,500 sq. ft., with parking on the first floor, with residential condominiums on the upper floors. There is a greater demand for residential units and less for professional office space. Requesting zone change from P1 and R3 to B2A.

The building at 522 E. Main Street will be removed, which has been vacant for one year without takers to rent it as professional office space, despite the owner, Bill Justice, a prominent real estate broker in the city. A small house at 109 Kentucky Avenue will also be removed. The bulk of the property at 126 E. Main Street is a vacant lot.

The developer is also requesting a front yard setback variance along Main. B2A calls for a 10 ft. setback, and they are requesting a setback of 4 feet. The Downtown Master Plan calls for a building such as this to be built to the sidewalk edge, and to provide privacy and a sense of security, the first floor should be slightly elevated above the sidewalk. However, parking is suggested to be below grade.

Oh, what's up with the two LFUCG owned houses along Liberty just west of New Circle? They are boarded up, condemned and are awaiting demolition. This is near one of the sharper curves, and there seems to be some new development ongoing behind it.

Cardinal Hill plans $40 million expansion (http://www.kentucky.com/779/story/373679.html)
By Sarah Vos, Herald-Leader, April 11, 2008

Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital is planning a $40 million expansion that would result in more private rooms for patients and a gymnasium for the hospital's championship-winning wheelchair basketball teams.

According to information submitted to the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council, plans call for a four-story addition with 158 rehabilitation beds, approximately 155,000 square feet of space, a gym and a therapy pool. The existing building also would be renovated.

The expansion is needed because of the number of patients who come to Cardinal Hill for treatment, said Ken Hiler, secretary of the Board of Trustees.

"We're just completely full, and we're turning people away," Hiler said.

Hiler, who is working with the architect on the design, declined to discuss the specifics of the planned expansion, as did President and CEO Kerry Gillihan, who said the hospital would unveil its plans Thursday. "I just can't comment until we go public," he said.

This week, the hospital asked the Urban County Council to support its request for up to $43 million in bonds from the Kentucky Economic Development Financing Authority. The resolution was given its second reading Thursday.

Cardinal Hill has planned to expand since 2006, when the state approved adding 50 beds, but financial problems at Samaritan Hospital, where Cardinal Hill operates 34 nursing home beds, caused the hospital to reconsider its plans, according to the Certificate of Need application Cardinal Hill filed with the state in February.

Cardinal Hill asked that its plans to add 50 rehabilitation beds to its Versailles Road facility be amended to include 74 nursing home beds. The hospital acquired the license to operate the nursing home beds from Friendship Healthcare, a North Limestone facility that closed in 2006 after the federal government cut funding because of poor patient care.

Once the addition is complete, the old facility would be renovated to allow for the 74 nursing home beds. Hiler said the renovations would mostly consist of updating the rooms with new paint and carpet.

Those 74 nursing home beds will allow the hospital to provide rehabilitation services in a less intensive setting.

According to the Certificate of Need application, Medicaid and other insurance services are now requiring some patients receive less intensive rehabilitation.

In addition to joint replacement patients, who were served at Samaritan, the 74 beds will be used to care for stroke and brain injury patients who no longer qualify for more intensive rehabilitation.

According to the application, which was approved in February, construction was supposed to start this month. Hiler, who is a builder, said rain would delay the project. Building would begin in June or July, he said.

Oh, what's up with the two LFUCG owned houses along Liberty just west of New Circle? They are boarded up, condemned and are awaiting demolition. This is near one of the sharper curves, and there seems to be some new development ongoing behind it.
I am unsure of the location of your question. There are no sharp curves on Liberty Rd much less just west of New Circle(toward town).

They have torn down the Shell station on the corner and plan to develop a Lexus dealer from there to the Parkette.

^^ Are you serious? Another car dealership on newcircle! :crazy2:

I thought I saw plans at LFUCG for another cheapo lot. I wouldn't fathom why Lexus would locate there of all places, given the lot is fairly small. I could see them taking over the New Circle Inn property, since that would be next to Toyota.

AS originally posted http://www.lfucg.com/Planning/Plans/0711/DP2007-151.pdf it is fairly substantially changed

I saw that DP a couple of months back but I didn't know that it was going to be a Lexus dealer.

Toyota on Nicholasville owns Lexus of Lexington which is why they wouldn't want to be next to Green's. I figure to that it would be more convenient for the Lexus dealer in Lexington and not stranded on an island between here and Nicholasville. A few people I know that have a Lexus get it serviced at Green's so they are probably losing out on that end of the business a bit.

The Old Don Jacobs lot is over 5 acres in total if memory serves me correct. I

It should be an improvement for the area. The old Brock McVey building has been redone across from there and looks a lot better and with new owners of Parkette opening it back up later this year it will hopefully make that a fun place to go to again.

Midway development to include winery, homes (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=19682194#post19682194). Related and close, but I posted it in the Kentucky subforum.

Horse park hotel project appears dead (http://www.kentucky.com/779/story/377644.html)
BOND SALE DEADLINE PASSES
By Linda B. Blackford, Herald-Leader, April 16, 2008

The proposed luxury hotel project at the Kentucky Horse Park is apparently dead after an April 15 deadline passed without a bond sale to finance the deal.

State officials set that deadline for private developers to sell the $118 million in bonds that would make it possible to complete construction by the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games at the park.

But, as of late Tuesday afternoon, there was no announcement of any bond sale. Neither officials at the state Finance and Administration Cabinet nor the private developers would comment on the matter.

John Nicholson, director of the Kentucky Horse Park, said that, without hearing otherwise, he assumed the deal had expired.

"I am disappointed that we will have to delay for two years efforts to make the Horse Park self-sustaining, but I am relieved there is no concern now about a construction timetable with respect to the World Equestrian Games," said Nicholson.

WEG organizers and state officials did not want any ongoing construction happening during the Games.

The games will be held for two weeks beginning Sept. 25, 2010, featuring eight equestrian world championships.

Organizers expect to sell about 700,000 tickets to individual events, but the actual number of spectators could be far less. Many spectators will buy tickets to more than one event.

However, Nicholson stressed that a some kind of hotel will eventually be built at the park, perhaps with construction beginning shortly after the World Games conclude.

The lack of sales had been blamed on a volatile bond market in a gloomy economy.

The deal was a complicated public-private venture using $118 million in tax-exempt bonds issued by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority. About $75 million of those were backed by the developers, but the commonwealth could have been liable for an additional $42.17 million if the hotel doesn't succeed.

A feasibility study said the hotel would have 75 percent occupancy with room rates of $175 a night. However, local hotel managers have dismissed those projections as unrealistic. By comparison, The Marriott Griffin Gate Resort on Newtown Road has an occupancy rate of 64 percent.

The developers were eligible for a tax rebate of up to $39 million and a $3 million loan to help them make debt payments in case they ran short of cash. The tax rebate was provided by legislation to encourage private development in tourism projects.

Brad Burgess, a Florida businessman who now lives in Lexington, came up with the idea of building the 267-room luxury Westin hotel, spa and retail project with a non-profit foundation. His development group would have made a $5 million development fee on the deal.

His development group was hired by a non-profit foundation also created by Burgess that would run the project. After the debt service was paid off, the foundation would distribute any profits to local equine and tourism groups.

As of yesterday's BI plan review, the Shelbourne Plaza project should have its permits. They will start on the two buildings nearest to Pine St and do excavation and ground work on the Bolivar St end.

Failed hotel deal not expected to affect equestrian games (http://www.kentucky.com/779/story/379146.html)
By Linda B. Blackford, Herald-Leader, April 17, 2008

The proposed hotel deal at the Kentucky Horse Park is officially dead, but it shouldn't have an effect on the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

That's the opinion of Horse Park Director John Nicholson.

"This would have been nice, but it was not an essential element," Nicholson said. "There are other hotel facilities that are close enough by to host the teams and officials."

The Finance and Administration Cabinet sent out a letter on Wednesday to Brad Burgess, one of the developers on the deal, to formally terminate the deal.

"The increasing risk of having an unfinished hotel during the FEI World Equestrian Games in 2010 is simply unacceptable to the Cabinet," counsel Jeffrey Mosley wrote.

The developers had not met the April 15 deadline set out by the state to sell the bonds to finance the deal, the letter said, and "despite multiple extensions from the cabinet, it is clear that this project is not viable at this time."

However, a hotel is included in the Horse Park's master plan, and Nicholson said he could envision one starting construction shortly after the World Games conclude.

"It is very important for the financial independence of the park," he said.

Sweet. CentrePointe may be usefull after the games, but the horsepark hotel would have probably stayed empty. I'm kinda glad this isn't getting built.

As of yesterday's BI plan review, the Shelbourne Plaza project should have its permits. They will start on the two buildings nearest to Pine St and do excavation and ground work on the Bolivar St end.

Thanks for the info. Do you have any renderings/sketches/articles about this? I can't recall where this place is.

I didn't think the Horse Park hotel was necessary either at least not at the scale they were proposing.

Thanks for the info. Do you have any renderings/sketches/articles about this? I can't recall where this place is.

Click on Shelbourne and scroll (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=106726305381647164736.000001125882aa777c286&t=k&z=11)

Is Lexington Starting to Dream?
by David Mohney
April 19, 2008

In my last two columns for Business Lexington, I've argued that Lexington is more willing to accept new ideas about what it might be in the future, and that's a good thing, because we will continue to grow to the point that it's entirely reasonable to assume that at least 100,000 more people will live in the city within the next two generations. Now it's time to start to imagine how they will live here.

The frontline in Lexington's recent growth has been the suburban edge of the city, the place were the growth boundary met the agrarian landscape that surrounds the city. Whether and where to expand the Urban Services Boundary became a pitched battle between forces promoting growth and those opposed to it. Throughout those heated debates, however, little attention was given to re-development within the boundary. High land costs, legal intricacies, mitigation of existing environmental concerns, and (to be blunt) the proximity of watchful entrenched neighbors made property redevelopment much more difficult than turning over distant agricultural land for new buildings.

There was another factor at work too. Many other cities across America discovered how to make denser urban developments attractive in the last decade, but that sensibility was slow to come to Lexington. And as is often the case, it took a developer from outside the city to show how it could be done. The development of the City Courts apartments on Martin Luther King Boulevard was a revelation when it was completed two years ago. A small site, slightly more than an acre in size, became the location for 54 new loft apartments; the conventional wisdom in the local development community was that the site large enough for only a handful of residences. The success of City Courts has led to a small explosion of infill residential projects throughout the downtown and near the UK campus.

These residential infill projects are welcome. But they are only the beginning of what could, and should, be built in Lexington. There are finally several mixed-use infill developments coming online, combining retail and entertainment uses with housing, and others are under discussion. They promise new density with an urban sensibility, promoting visible life on the streets of the city. The city's Department of Planning deserves credit for cultivating new standards for infill development, and for finally moving beyond a suburban one-size-fits-all mentality that it applied to most projects over the past four decades. Again, it's a good thing – and about time.

But these are still baby steps on the journey that the city now seems willing, however tenuously, to take. This is the time not to sit back and think we've done enough. In fact, there is much further to go. Other cities looking at growing populations are identifying land for redevelopment, and targeting specific segments of the public for them. A straightforward example of this is the area around the UK campus: it should be a center of student life, but it's only in the last five years that the idea of a collegetown has been taken seriously. If you look at the retail and entertainment businesses in proximity to the campus, you realize that there are a lot of them – but they're spread out in a ring at its perimeter. I've always rolled my eyes at the fact that the last two times UK won the NCAA championship, the students celebrated in Lynagh's parking lot. Imagine how much more compelling it would be to have Chapel Hill's Franklin Street, or Georgetown's Wisconsin Avenue as a center of student life.

But this kind of planning strategy extends well beyond students. Other cities are targeting elderly, realizing that the population is aging, and planning not just housing but the right kinds of services for older people in close proximity. That means walking distance, so that as older people give up their driving, they don't have to relocate out of a living neighborhood but can find the services they need close by.

If achieving a critical mass is a defining characteristic of a successful mixed-use development today, one vital component of this success is access to a viable transit system. If we really are going to add 100,000 new residents – or more – in the next thirty years, we should be setting goals to link these new developments to a successful transit system. That means a strategic link between neighborhood planning and transit planning – to the point that transit stops are centers for mixed-use activities, with clustered housing, shopping, services, and other necessities integrated together with attractive stops and stations for the transit system.

And if it were up to me, I'd target this whole process – determining areas ready for redevelopment, revising zoning and occupancy regulations to facilitate it, making strategic decisions on transit routes and the level of infrastructure needed to support them – on the parts of the city inside New Circle Road. The knee-jerk response is that there isn't enough land inside New Circle to accommodate this increasing population. But that was the mindset that said the City Courts site could only hold a handful of houses, not 54. It was the mindset that said the Collegetown area was full, when a detailed examination of the land indicated places for 400+ new residential units. I believe if we really looked carefully at this land, and worked hard to improve both the existing fabric as well as the areas for redevelopment, we'd be astonished at its potential to drive future growth in the city.

It's time to dream. And fortunately, there is time to dream, before the pressures of growth really take hold in the years ahead. We can study the existing city fabric, propose new kinds of structures and densities for discussion and evaluation, make simulations of how transit could serve a more dense, more vibrant, center of our city. We can plan for neighborhoods that would be better for elderly residents, and others for younger people and families. In short, we have time to be smart: dreaming and hard work can lead us to an idea of this city with a kind of vibrancy that lifts everyone. But it starts with the dream.


www.bizlex.com

Bottoms Up
Bars look to breathe new nightlife into Victorian Square
April 19, 2008

As established downtown nightspots like the Dame and Mia's prepare to close or move to make way for new development on East Main, a cluster of new drinking establishments are soon hoping to see another door open — in the form of a thriving nightlife scene at Victorian Square.

A new Brazilian-themed bar and grill, Devassa, has leased the former first-floor location of Spice clothing store facing Triangle Park on Main Street and is currently refitting the space to open next month, offering drinks, grill fare and live music. An upscale neighborhood bar and lounge called the Chase, with a projected opening date of June 1, will replace the recently vacated Hutchinson's Drug Store on the corner of Broadway and Short Street, and as of press time, another upscale bar concept aimed at Lexington's professional crowd was finalizing its lease for the lower level space adjoining the main atrium, formerly occupied by the tasting room for Equus Run.

When it comes to jumpstarting the nightlife in the downtown mall, the timing couldn't be better, according to the business owners and Victorian Square management. While the clustering was not intentional, the operators hope the new energy created by the businesses will allow them to feed off of each other while filling a significant gap for the local entertainment scene.

To build on the momentum, Victorian Square is exploring the possibility of pursuing entertainment destination zoning for the building, said Becky Reinhold, president of the Victorian Square Association, in addition to planning more live entertainment and special events for its main atrium space. Among other benefits, an entertainment destination zoning would allow patrons to carry open containers between bars within Victorian Square premises, but current legislation in Kentucky restricts the zoning designation to Class 1 cities, like Louisville.

"In the last six months, we've been looking at ways to increase traffic at Victorian Square, and this is very exciting," Reinhold said. At the same time, Reinhold said, the mall's management has been taking care to ensure that new initiatives will also serve the interests of their long-term retail tenants.

The three new businesses planned for Victorian Square could help give rise to a new hub for Lexington's night economy, said Tom Martin, who heads the downtown entertainment task force established by Vice Mayor Jim Gray.

"From the business standpoint, it responds to the need to cluster small businesses in one location so they can benefit from each other's traffic," Martin said. "The architecture is also very much in keeping with what many envision downtown Lexington should look like."

Victorian Square's close proximity to the crowd-generating entertainment venues of the Lexington Opera House, Rupp Arena and the Lexington Convention Center make it a natural fit for a vibrant night business, Martin said.


"It is ideally located to capture all that pedestrian traffic," Martin said. "It also has parking, which makes it accessible and usable by people who don't necessarily live downtown, but like to come to the downtown area in the evening for entertainment."

A taste of Brazil

Devassa is the brainchild of Bob Douglas, a scientist who has specialized in veterinary diagnostic endocrinology in both Lexington and Rio De Janiero, along with his partner and Devassa manager, Lauren Bentley.

In addition to his local interests in veterinary diagnostics and pharmaceuticals, Douglas has owned a veterinary diagnostic laboratory in Brazil for the past eight years and fell in love with the bars of cities like Rio de Janiero and Buenos Aires during his travels.

"In any big city, the bar environment is a big part of the culture," Douglas said. "Brazilians are fun-loving people. ... They like to eat and drink and talk and socialize and dance and enjoy good music, and that's what we want to try to have here."

Devassa's offerings won't be strictly Brazilian, Douglas said, but he does plan to offer some specialty drinks and dishes from the region. While Douglas wants Devassa to give locals the opportunity to experience different types of music, he also said he plans to support the local music scene.

"There needs to be a lot more support for the music scene than there is," Douglas said. "We're going to do as much as we can to support live music and different kinds of music."

Devassa's offerings will range from soft jazz or acoustic music at happy hour to more lively bands during the late night hours, to appeal to a wide variety of age groups throughout the evening, Douglas said. Eventually, Douglas hopes to see Devassa offering patrons free salsa and tango lessons during the week.

Regarding the other bar concepts looking to open in Victorian Square, Douglas said he hopes to see even more.

"I wish we had six or seven other bars and restaurants in that building," Douglas said. "It would make it much more viable and vibrant. It wouldn't be competition; it would augment everybody's business."

The Chase is on

Construction has begun on a new bar, The Chase, in the former location of Hutchinson's drug store. Operated by New Republic LLC, the bar will have an upscale lounge atmosphere designed to appeal to Lexington's professional set, according to a New Republic spokesperson. The projected opening date is June 1.

With the loss of the Dame and the growing number of restaurants on Limestone Avenue, the Chase's owners see Broadway and Short Street evolving into a natural destination for people making the rounds through Lexington's downtown nightlife — especially while construction of new downtown developments is underway over the next two or more years.

The Chase was originally planned for the Chevy Chase area, according to the owners, but the regulations were too restrictive. In addition to the opportunities presented by the possibility of entertainment destination zoning and the shifting downtown landscape, Victorian Square offered ample parking and the energy that comes from being only blocks away from Lexington's current entertainment center. The Chase intends to cater to different age levels during different evening hours, the owners said, and ultimately it hopes to distinguish itself as a bar that both locals and visitors will associate with Lexington.

A license to play

To Sean Sewell, the time is right for a Victorian Square renaissance.

With the new development slotted for the Rosenberg block and two other bars set to establish Victorian Square addresses, Sewell and his partners, who hope to open a downtown bar by June 1, believe Victorian Square is poised to capture a healthy amount of Lexington's nightlife activity.

"The (Rosenberg) block has got to move somewhere," Sewell said. "The people who are going downtown are still going to want to come downtown. They're not suddenly going to drive off to Hamburg or Nicholasville Road."

The biggest challenge for Sewell has been getting the liquor license to serve them.

"We are pretty much stuck in a holding pattern ourselves because, from what we hear from the ABC, there just aren't any liquor licenses left in Lexington and won't be until January of 2009," Sewell said.

Sewell and his partners were big fans of the Melodeon on Main Street, he said, and they are hoping to create a similar, comfortable feeling with their own bar in the lower level of Victorian Square. Right now, however, the only liquor licenses to be had must be bought on the open market, where Sewell has heard of businesses paying up to $15,000 in Lexington. It makes it difficult for a small bar like that envisioned by Sewell to turn a profit, he said, but he and his partners are still moving forward with their plans.

"We're not looking to create the college, meat-market bar," said Sewell, a native of Jessamine County and a graduate of UK. "We're trying to play it to the broadest possible clientele. … We're trying to fill in everything that's been missing in Lexington."

While Sewell's business will be strictly a bar, he also wants to be part of the effort to support more live music downtown, including a wider variety of genres, including Bluegrass, blues and jazz.

For Martin, helping businesses like Sewell's to overcome obstacles to establishing their businesses is the entertainment task force's primary mission.

"The overriding challenge right now is first and foremost to break the logjam of available liquor licenses," said Martin, who also sees a need for better communication between would-be business owners and operators and the various government agencies involved in the start-up process.

The interest shown in creating a Victorian Square nightlife, Martin said, is a good start.

"I hope it doesn't stop there," Martin said. "We'd like to see that kind of energy spread all the way back up Main Street to the eastern end."

I'm not 100% sold on the idea of clustering the majority of the bars and nightlife in one centralized location -- i.e. around Victorian Square and near Rupp. I'd like to see it spread out, but there are very few, if any locations left going towards Main and Rose, where the energy is ... much more quiet. Sans A1A, that side of downtown is pretty placid.

That said, this is a shot in the arm for Victorian Square, which is seeing a lot of vacant parcels open up as the mall-portion of the project slowly dies. Most of the foot traffic comes during lunch rush or during Rupp events, and there are very few stores remaining that really cater to downtown residents (i.e. drug/convenience store). I'd like to see something more than bars/restaurants go up in the space, but if it draws more traffic in -- especially with the proposed enterainment -- then that is always a plus.

June start date expected for Cardinal Hill addition (http://www.kentucky.com/103/story/379906.html)
HOSPITAL'S SPACE WILL NEARLY DOUBLE; 158 BEDS TO BE ADDED
By Jim Warren, Herald-Leader, April 18, 2008

Construction on Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital's $40 million addition should get rolling by early to mid June, with completion expected in the fall of 2009, hospital officials said Thursday.

The four-level, 155,000-square-foot addition will provide 158 additional beds, bringing Cardinal Hill up to a total of 232, and nearly doubling the hospital's space. The total includes 34 beds that Cardinal Hill now operates at the University of Kentucky Good Samaritan. Those beds will be moved to Cardinal Hill's main campus at 2050 Versailles Road.

Cardinal Hill officials said that 74 beds will be designated for "sub-acute" care, serving patients with less demanding medical problems. But up to 20 of those beds may be set aside for ventilator-dependent patients. Now, there are only two hospitals in Kentucky that cater to the needs of such patients.

Thursday's announcement offered the first detailed glimpse of the project since it was unveiled before the Urban County Council last week.

Key features of the expansion will include a larger and better-equipped therapy pool, a full-size gymnasium, and more private rooms for patients.

Cardinal Hill has only two private rooms now, but about 53 percent of the new beds will be in private rooms. Cardinal Hill President and CEO Kerry Gillihan said that will mean more efficient operations, since Cardinal Hill no longer would have to temporarily convert semi-private rooms to private when it needs to accommodate patients whose conditions demand private rooms.

According to Gillihan, the expansion also will generate about 248 additional jobs by the third year after completion.

The addition will be built onto Cardinal Hill's existing hospital, extending eastward toward downtown Lexington and parallel with Versailles Road. A new main entrance will be created, and additional parking will be provided, Gillihan said.

It will be the largest expansion in the 58-year history of Cardinal Hill, which began in 1950 as a hospital to treat child polio patients.

"Truly this is a landmark day for this institution," Gillihan said.

Officials plan to finance the project with bonds from the Kentucky Economic Development Financing Authority, cash reserves and private donations.

"It's a little nerve-racking when you think about borrowing this kind of money and jumping into this kind of project," said Gary Cox, chairman of the Cardinal Hill board of trustees. "We feel it's absolutely the right thing to do."

The hospital served about 9,000 patients last year from all across Kentucky and 14 other states. Officials say the facility is bursting at the seams.

Victorian Square development is a great idea, since 500s on Main is right next door. The residents of that will be within walking distance.

There's probably a good potential of gaining nightlife and activity by filling some of the old empty buildings downtown with attractions. Not necessarily bars, but other things that can be entertaining.

I would like to see more bars, but I would like to see things other than bars.

BRING BACK LAZER QUEST :)

Hell yeah :cheers:

Entice retailers into downtown (http://www.kentucky.com/591/story/380902.html)
Residents need stores that sell basics

It was a little disheartening Friday to read about all the essential goods one retail business, the Rite Aid at West Main Street and South Limestone, provides to people who live and work downtown.

It's even more disheartening that it will close at the end of business today.

Although Rite Aid's departure is tied up in the controversy surrounding the proposed CentrePointe project, the problems raised are broader and demand the focused attention of planners and policy-makers in city hall.

With this one store gone, downtown's anemic basic retail scene is shrinking close to non-existence.

Residents of three downtown apartment buildings for seniors will no longer be able to walk to get a prescription filled. The bakery across the street from the Rite Aid will no longer have a place to dash to when milk for cappuccino runs low.

Hundreds of downtown workers won't have a place within walking distance to pick up tissues when their allergies go wild or office supplies when they run out unexpectedly or even a last-minute gift.

In the last few years, there's been heartening progress in downtown residential construction, even if sales are slow now.

But living downtown will continue to be a hard sell if residents have to get in a car and drive for very basic services or a carton of milk.

The mantra has long been that if residents come, retail will follow. Perhaps it's time to push a more proactive approach.

That could include:

• Tax incentives for retailers offering basic goods or for landlords who attract them.

• A concentrated marketing effort to connect retailers with available space.

• A small-business loan pool for local entrepreneurs who open retail outlets downtown.

• The incorporation of retail goals into the city's land-bank program, in which the government acquires underused land.

• Inclusion of additional retail when and if a permanent home is created for the Farmers Market.

Whether any or none of these ideas will solve the problem is hard to predict. The point is: The need is now, and it's time to act.

I'm not 100% sold on the idea of clustering the majority of the bars and nightlife in one centralized location

Is this not a reversal of your(and others) claim the the Dame is and should be the heart of the "entertainment district"?

Or are you just opposed to the Victorian Square location?

Thank you for putting words in my mouth, again.

I never said that The Dame is the heart/is of the enterainment district, just that it is a vital component of. The block also was not a cluster of bars and restaurants, and was home to a music venue, two bars, a restaurant, pawn shop, nightclub, and a pharmacy.

I am looking at it from my perspective -- that Victorian Square's frontage along Main and Broadway would be nothing but bars and restaurants instead of shops. Only one or two remain (IIRC) that front the major streets, although I admit it would be highly unlikely that we'll see any viable retail clients move into Victorian Square.

I'm also not opposed to Victorian Square's new focus on enterainment and bars/restaurants instead of retail clients. The retail portion of the project has been dying for years, and has slowly been replaced with offices and vacant storefronts.

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Parking fee flummoxes some Farmer's Market fans (http://www.kentucky.com/779/story/381415.html)
Herald-Leader, April 20, 2008

Some shoppers arriving at the Lexington Farmer’s Market Saturday were unhappy when asked to pay $3 to park in a lot that had been free.

Some thought the new charge at the lot between Main and Vine streets was related to the proposed CentrePointe hotel-condo-office-retail project that could be built on the block.

But there is no direct tie, said Charlie Maddox, who runs a parking concession on the lot he leases from Joe Rosenberg.

Maddox said that several businesses, including two bars and an architecture firm, have moved away from the area, hurting his business during the times he charges for spaces.

“When things suffer in one area, you have to make up for it in another,” he said.

He also defended the $3 price for people buying fresh vegetables, noting that on some weekend nights, he charges $5. “We didn’t want to gouge anyone, we just wanted to make up that revenue loss,” he said.

I was able to see renderings of the proposed development at the corner of Main and Kentucky Ave. I wish I could scan and post them up on here but I wasn't even supposed to be able to see them. I can, however, give a description: it was 6 floors (65ft tall I believe) with a parking garage on the ground floor. There are 2 units per floor (big condos, don't know the square footage though), 12 condos total that are supposedly already reserved. It is a squared shape building, with curved edges, white or pearl colored, with balconies on the front and back (for each unit) that wrap-around- they are large balconies. It will be a unique building if it's built as is, I'm not saying it's a beauty but it's not bad.

The project is supposed to break ground in a year and take around 16 months to complete. I didn't really understand why they are taking so long to begin though...

Lexcity, You are right about the height but the number of condos is 10. The first floor is enclosed parking and about half depressed in the slope of Kentucky Ave, so that the first residential floor is at grade on Main St.

The color will blend in with Barclay East apartments and the vynil siding of the houses on Kentucky, but is in stark contrast to the Victorian style of the Justice Real Estate building and the Wellington Arms condos.

^^Interesting.

It's good to hear that the parking will be 'below grade.'

That is good news.

It's an interesting sounding design though. I'm having trouble picturing it in my mind. I guess I'll just wait on a rendering.

That is an awful small number of condos for a 6 story structure unless the footprint is really small. But ten more condos is ten more condos...

I forgot to mention that the reason they are able to build only 10 (you were right cartomanlex) units in a 6 story building is b/c each unit is selling for around $1 million. The rendering shows a terrace on top of the building, on the front half- it should have some great veiws.

I think that these are to "renderings" that you saw. They are from SketchUp and are not mine.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj84/cartmanlex/KYMain01-1.jpg


http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj84/cartmanlex/KYMain02-1.jpg

Thanks for posting those. It is kind of what I was picturing from the descriptions, but I like it better than what I was thinking. It's not the best design I've ever seen, but it looks ok.

thats them, i got to see the floor plans as well. I'm surprised they were put out for public view b/c the architect did not want them to be.

Our government runs so well.............

You never know who is telling the truth. The developers are disputing the reasons the project was canceled.

http://www.kentucky.com/779/story/382798.html

I kind of like the design of the building, but I wish that it would front both Kentucky and Main, instead of a small (very small) surface lot that leads into the parking structure. The surface lot is sloped so that it leads to the partially-underground parking lot, so I suppose there is a reason...

Thanks for posting those. It is kind of what I was picturing from the descriptions, but I like it better than what I was thinking. It's not the best design I've ever seen, but it looks ok.

Sums it up just about right for me too.

Thanks for posting those.

You're welcome. You don't know what I went through to find them.

BTW Is it my imagination or has work stopped on the 500's on Main?

"BTW Is it my imagination or has work stopped on the 500's on Main?"


Cartoman, when I was by there a couple of days ago, they were still working and a couple more levels of beams had been added. Maybe something happened since then. I can probably check it out tomorrow and get a pic or two.

I saw this in Business Lexington today.... I hope this still has some resemblance to the original plan and not something like Newtown Crossing.


Shelburne Plaza becomes The Lex
When initially proposed for the site of a former tobacco warehouse on South Broadway, Shelburne Plaza was envisioned as a major mixed-use project featuring up to 350 condominiums and 85,000 square feet of ground level retail space. In August ’07, the retail component was reduced to 50,000 square feet. The Urban County Council had approved significant tax abatements for the project. Those were removed last November. Now the Shelburne project is gone altogether, to be replaced by The Lex.

Confirming the change in plans, Downtown Development Authority president Harold Tate said The Buckingham Companies, an Indiana-based real estate development, construction and management firm, will develop the property as a 350-unit apartment complex targeting graduate students and young professionals. Plans call for 35,000 square feet of ground level retail, Tate said, adding that the developers plan to invest $100,000 in public art for the site.

I found this website that had information about Shelbourne Plaza
http://www.buckingham-co.com/development/currentProjects.php

Not sure if this means anything, but hopefully it's more evidence that this is finally happening.

Location: Lexington, Kentucky

Project: Shelbourne Plaza is a mixed-use development located on 4.71 acres in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, within a quarter-mile of the campus of the University of Kentucky. When complete, Shelbourne Plaza will include three buildings containing 291 residential units over 89,000 square feet of street-level retail and restaurants. Structured parking will be provided in a two-level underground garage of approximately 700 spaces. Outdoor seating, a plaza, and additional surface parking will be provided at grade.

The information on the website reads a little differently than before. There is no information on the company site that indicates this will be geared toward young professionals...only students

The Lex

Location: Lexington, Kentucky

Project: The Lex is a vibrant mixed-use development located on 7.99 acres in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, within a quarter-mile of the campus of the University of Kentucky. When complete, The Lex will include four buildings containing 264 student housing units and over 27,000 square feet of street-level retail and restaurants. A 6,500 square foot amenity center will feature a state of the art fitness center, theatre room, study area and club room. Outdoor amenities will include a plaza, pool and public art.

adding that the developers plan to invest $100,000 in public art for the site.

I call bull sh*t on the $100,000 for public art. This will be the first thing VE'ed when the time comes.

Oh god. Another Newtown Crossing that will come. "Street-level" can mean anything -- facing an interior street or parking lot, for instance, and the amenity center will probably be something like Newtown Crossing's -- a few weights, theatre (i.e. television with a few cheap seats), study area (i.e. 4 desktop computers), and club room (i.e. pool table). Newtown boasted a "car wash" -- which was nothing more than a garden hose (that "car wash" has now been discontinued).

Horse Park hotel developers dispute state's reasons for canceling contract (http://www.kentucky.com/254/story/382798.html)
By Linda B. Blackford, Herald-Leader, April 21, 2008

The developers of a $90 million proposed hotel at the Kentucky Horse Park are now disputing the reasons the state gave for canceling their contract after an April 15 deadline passed.

In a press release Monday, developer Brad Burgess said his group had submitted numerous financing and work schedule progress reports to the Finance and Administration Cabinet.

"At no time until the state's decision to terminate was there any risk of the hotel not being finished in time for the FEI World Equestrian Games in 2010," Burgess said in the release.

He also said he had been working under a contract awarded in July, but did not receive the state's approval to sell bonds until Feb. 28. The day after that, the cabinet set an April 15 deadline for all the bonds to be sold in order to build the hotel in time for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. According to an April 16 letter from the cabinet, state officials had not received any word that the bonds had been sold.

However, a buyer had committed to buy $42.5 of the $118 million bonds, according to the release, and a bond investor had scheduled a visit to the Kentucky Horse Park.

On Feb. 29, "Despite multiple extensions from the Cabinet, it is clear that this project is not viable at this time," said the letter from general counsel Jeffrey Mosley.

Burgess also disagreed with a previous statement by the state that his group had received multiple extensions. He said they had not asked for extensions because none were required under their contract.

Burgess' spokesman, Doug Alexander, would not comment on why Burgess was now disputing the cancellation.

The Finance and Administration Cabinet spokeswoman, Jill Midkiff, said the cabinet stands by its letter of April 16.

The deal was a complicated public-private venture using $118 million in tax-exempt bonds issued by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority. About $75 million of those were backed by the developers, but the commonwealth could have been liable for an additional $42.17 million if the hotel didn't succeed.

Burgess came up with the idea of building the 267-room luxury Westin hotel, spa and retail project with a non-profit foundation. His development group would have made a $5 million development fee on the deal.

His development group was hired by a non-profit foundation also created by Burgess that would run the project. After the debt service was paid off, the foundation would distribute any profits to local equine and tourism groups.

I was in town saturday and wanted to make a few comments. I drove around downtown after eating at Joe Bologna's and was impressed by the presvervation of the older structures, Versailes also had a very nice little downtown. I was really impressed by all the construction going on around UK (and a little jealous as I go to UofL), and downtown in general. It looked like the Urban Service District ended at Man O War, is this correct? It seems like development just kind of disapears after that road, also at I-75. I guess my only complaint would be traffic. I spent a LOT of time on Nicholasville RD, which is also a bit confusing as at parts it does not seem to have a median. All in all I was very impressed, this was my first time in Lexington in a few years, it was very scenic.

ot...what ever happened to krosejr?

He still posts every once in a great while.

Card, glad you had a good experience in Lexington.

Seriously, "The Lex". Talk about lazy,

This is interesting: http://www.lfucg.com/planning/Plans/0804/DP2008-71.pdf

It is a preliminary development plan for the neighborhood just behind Shelburne Plaza- oh sorry I mean "The Lex". It is the redevelopment for the Newtown Pike Extension. A Final development plan will have to be approved after this one for building permits to be approved, but it's exciting to see that this is about to get under way!

^ That is part of the Newtown Pike extension project, and has been made available in some form or another for a while --

http://www.newtownextension.com/images/stories/videos/NewtownPikeMap.swf
http://www.newtownextension.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=section&id=4&Itemid=33

The preliminary zoning development plans may be different now that the project has progressed, but they are aiming for dense and traditional developments -- not another cut-through boulevard.

I don't see anything aimed for the north side of the roadway, either. I am wondering if that is included within a separate development project, or if that will just be left up for developers.

The preliminary development plans may be different now that the project has progressed, ...

That is a zoning Development Plan which is a requirement in the application to change the zoning of the area. It is currently an Industrial zone and need to go to a Residential or Mixed Use zone.

Nothing to get excited about or I would have mentioned it a week ago.

"Blackford Town Center": UGH. More sprawl fest on the eastern fringes of the city.
http://www.lfucg.com/planning/Plans/0804/DP2008-60.pdf

How is that sprawl fest? It is mixed use and quite dense. 3 stories with retail on the bottom and a 2 story parking deck. It is 252 units and 220,000 SF of retail. That is a lot on 20 acres. Also the parking is all behind the buildings with the retail facing a main street with 3 water features and a large park. Since something is clearly going to get developed on this site this is a lot better than the Rite Aid and gas station with a bunch of townhouses like they did in the CC zone next door.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gt7834a/Rendering.jpg

It's on the edge of the city, the edge of the urban service boundary. And totally unnecessary, unless it is to encourage further residential and commercial development east of Interstate 75. It may be more dense than the crap that is Rite Aid and the gasoline station, but it's no better off than Hamburg Pavilion's "downtown" with their faux roundabout.

It's still auto-centric, at the edge of the city, and only further encourages development on farmland.

While they are at it, the city should complete Polo Club Blvd. Four-lanes that narrows to two-lanes at a creek, and then magically disappears and reappears, only to disappear near Todds Road.

Here is a rendering I saw for the project.

That is a cool looking development, but it does suck that it is so far out (in my opinion). I wish we had neighborhoods like that more in town.

^ Still not showing up...?

Nice rendering, but I still don't like how it's so far out. This would be ideal if it was incorporated piece-by-piece into say... Chevy Chase (replacing some of the one-story buildings with three- or four-story mixed-use structures). At least it's more dense, but I hope that it doesn't encourage further development to the east.

--

What's going on with the building across from The Dame? The lone unrestored structure with the hideous facade that's been painted a dark gray? (I can't remember the address.) I was thinking of stopping by to ask if they are out there today again. It doesn't appear that it will be a total restoration though :(

So you are against all development at the edge of cities? If the property is to be developed, and it clearly is since it is zoned commercial and is right by the interstate and across from the proposed Central Baptist facility, would you not prefer to see something like this instead of more Hamburg?

Seicer, back a page, I edited it.
I agree I wish we had things like this closer to town but there is not a large enough parcel to do something like this. The most logical place is the old Lexington mall site, but no one can buy that one from Saul Properties. Other than that there is no infill that is 20 acres, which would be about the min. needed for a large retail project like this.

Also, I think the greenway that runs/is proposed to run through the creek along Polo Club runs next to this so there will be pretty good pedestrian access to this site.

What's going on with the building across from The Dame? The lone unrestored structure with the hideous facade that's been painted a dark gray? (I can't remember the address.) I was thinking of stopping by to ask if they are out there today again. It doesn't appear that it will be a total restoration though :(

I don't now but I looked inside today and they really had not done anything on the inside. I read a long time ago, maybe 9 months or so ago that someone had signed a lease to put in a restaurant but I assumed that was dead since nothing was going on. I hope they rip out that street level mess, it is awful. Frankly it is an ugly building, but if they redo the street level it would improve it a lot. That would make for a pretty nice stretch of redone buildings leaving only 1 left. I had heard the people who own Bellini's were going to open a jazz club there but there doesn't seem to be much movement.

Speaking of the Lexington Mall, I have heard a rumor that a super wal-mart could potentially be going on that site. How absolutely terrible would that be; so much potential for that site, a development like the one you have posted about gt would be outstanding.

But this is exciting stuff- check out the revised Lexington Streetscape Preliminary Plan at www.lexingtondda.com. There are some very cool updates and renderings in it; how awesome would the "Lexington Circle" be?! I hope we have the money to do even half of these projects. Updates seem to start around page 20, but a citizen survey from their last meeting is just before that.

I think the jazz club is on the top floor of the restaurant. I saw a lot of lights and a lot of people up there over the weekend.

As for the hideous gray building... they repainted the first floor a week or so ago... so it's doubtful it will be ripped out. And the rest of the exterior was just drabbed with gray paint. Ugly. Ugly. And ugly.

--

As for the Lexington Mall site, that would be ideal for a new, high-density mixed-use development, but the developer has sat on his ass for years and has neglected much-needed maintenance to the property... even when it was open. I don't know if I still have it here, but I did a hand-sketch of what I thought could go in on the site, down to the individual streets and outlines of buildings.

--

^ Did you go to the presentation they had set up last Friday?

I am really anticipating the redesign of Triangle Park into something more pedestrian friendly... and something a little more visible. I loved the presentations, and can't wait for some of the ideas to be implemented.

--

http://www.lexingtondda.com/whatcanbe.htm

Firm to advise Lexington on infill development (http://www.kentucky.com/779/story/384663.html)
By Beverly Fortune, Herald-Leader, April 23, 2008

A consulting firm has been hired to look at vacant and underused commercial sites inside New Circle Road and come up with strategies for their redevelopment.

Kenzelman Kline Gossman of Covington met Wednesday morning with a group of city officials, planners, developers and neighborhood representatives as it launched the six-month study of infill and redevelopment opportunities of non-residential land.

"Development is going to happen," said Craig Gossman, a principal in the urban planning and landscape architectural firm. But a market study can guide development sites into higher and better uses than might occur otherwise, he said.

One focus will be to target three uniquely different sites in different parts of the city and come up with strategy for "how to put new development on those sites," Gossman said. The firm will come up with the cost to acquire the real estate, make improvements to the infrastructure such as sewers and sidewalks; determine what businesses would be suitable; and a design for buildings, with projected rents and occupancy rates.

"You want to come up with a pattern for each site that can then be taken and used at other places in the community," he said. This kind of economic modeling will make the city's job easier in conveying long-range opportunities to developers.

The first site recommended to Kenzelman Kline for possible study was the long abandoned Lexington Mall on Richmond Road, followed by economically distressed Turfland Mall.